Collection: New Releases

In the endless quest for the deepest, trippiest cuts, the Italian progressive house scene is a steadfast provider. Fingerprints was a one-off project from Gianni Drigo and Maurizio Merli, which resulted in the After The Moon 12" on Mammut Records in 1996. Now Berlin-based label Evasione Digitale is bringing the incredible, immersive beat down of the title track back into the wider public consciousness for a trip like no other. It's incredibly restrained and subtle for a prog house track of the time, perfect for teasing the tension on the dancefloor. The other tracks are equally thrilling, from the dubby acid flex of 'Prints 3000' to the spiky, slower onset of 'Kabara'.

Techno duo Jail Break live up to their name with the release of 'Feeling Wild' via Sound Migration, conjuring feelings of lawless mischief in the mode of snappy, minimal electro-techno. The title track, as well as B-side 'Mentality', come as a pair of simple, unfussy cuts. Designed for cheekier and more relaxed dancefloors, the tracks are snippy analogue-esque jams; sonic steamed hams.

The Sound Migration label takes another trip back in to the CATT articles to explore the proto-trance and early bleep techno sound they were pushing from 1988-1991. Another five essential gems from the modestly sized catalogue get an airing here, kicking off with Confidential's haunting 'Amphibious Carbine' followed by the boxy pressure of Exocet's 'Nitrogen'. This is astounding stuff throughout, not least the freak-zone trip of Holy Ghost's 'Walking On Air', which sounds like the common denominator between Ibiza and Goa in their nascent days as party destinations. Don't sleep on the clattering funk of Exocet's 'Overdose' either, a seriously snappy groover with all kinds of oddball sampling going on.

The Take It Easy label returns with a red hot one and limited edition one-sided 12" that features a Bugsy 'ReDrum' of Wema's 'Kiherehere' cut. The original artists are a five-piece Tanzanian outfit founded on community and they have a global approach to sound that plays out here. In Bugsy's hands, it becomes a club-ready cut that fuses house and techno with the original's traditional Tanzanian instrumentals and Afro-Latin rhythms. Add in a fiery vocal and the sort of unrelenting drum funk that sends crowds mad and you have another standout from this fledgling label.

Minimal Detroit Audio is one of the newer Motor City labels but is already just as good as you would hope for a late from that long-running techno hotbed. This third transmission comes from the tried and tested Population One who lays down thumping drums and coarse snares on 'Edge Of The Visible Universe' and runs them through with haunting synth sequences. 'The Uphill Battle' brings more metallic texture and uneasy late-night energy to a mid-tempo groove and 'Suddenly' brings many layers of edgy synthesis to steely techno loops. 'On Location' flips the script with a unique fusion of eerie intergalactic synths and a bassline that rides up and down the face next to paired back deep house drums. It's pure Detroit and it's brilliant.

Byron The Aquarius (Byron Blaylock), from Birmingham, Alabama, debuts his latest EP for French Synchrophone sublabel Phonogramme, 'Dey Know Vol. 1'. Topping up an already hugely impressive backlog of releases on the label recently - from the likes of Abacus, Steeve O'Sullivan and Vitess - the producer and water carrier adds to their catalogue for a varied scrubdown of the more militant ends of techno's sonic politic. An impressove sense of variation is achieved on the expositionally minimal 'Black Is Black', which contrasts greatly to the ensuing space-quagmires of 'Dr Devil' and then the crude, bleepy and frank analog sonics of 'Real MF From The Avenue'. Dreamy narrations of local life abound, precluding the closing 'Rock That 808!!!', a track that is far more sophisticated and well-developed in sound than its wilfully blase title might suggest.

Opolopo and Alafia have hooked up here to work together on a new musical journey that takes the form of these two richly layered percussive monsters. 'Axxanxxan' and 'Axxiove' which arrive on this 12" from Canopy are as addictive as it gets - they fuse Afro rhythms and disco dazzle with synth innovation to create a pair of dance bombs with real tribal energy. The A-side is detailed with metallic bass, choppy guitars and swirling synths that add up to a nice tropical sotmg, while the flip has more prominent drums and hypnotic rhythms that have a subtle cosmos twist. Two gems from Canopy, then.