A record released by an unknown artist on a mysterious label is the sort of thing that has stirred the souls of dance-music aficionados for generations. The second release from the shadowy Withhold imprint is exactly what’s required to get the pulse racing. Not only are listeners in the dark as to the musician behind these tunes, but WH02 also herks back to the giddy early days of rave. A-side ‘Euphorix’ delivers on the promise of its title, its clattering breakbeats dissolving into misty synth pastures. On the flip we get ‘Klaatu Barada’, a tool with a more clear-sighted beat but also an increased sense of dystopian unease.

More revivalist goodness from the Withhold Records crew here. Fans of the label’s other releases will find plenty to love about the IDM and hardcore styling of Withhold’s fifth drop. WH05 opens and closes with tunes that cross-pollinate breakbeats with techno and the dystopian synth tones of classic electro, the end result being something that you might otherwise have found on Steven Rutter’s FireScope Records. Sandwiched between ‘Selkie’ and ‘Towers Of Night’ you get ‘Time Stretch’, a tune which pulls the wool over your eyes by suddenly zooming from an almost chopped ‘n’ screwed hip-hop beat into hyperspeed jungle. The artist behind 05, as has been the case with all over Withhold records, remains mysterious.