Collection: Techno

Kalahari Oyster Cult releases music as wonderfully unique as the label's own name. This one is pounding techno from Maara with a distinctly equine theme - and not just in the title and artwork. The opener has neighing horse sounds bursting out of the mix at various points as the high speed drums canter along with a warm, rich, deep but captivating sense of pace. 'Juicy Tracksuit' keeps up the quickness with buffed metal kick bouncing beneath psychoactive chords and slurred vocals. There is more pent up and kinetic energy with 'God Save The Bender'. 'Sheela Na Gig' - absolutely no relation to the famous PJ Harvey track of the same name - is a final uptempo, steamy and sweaty techno throbber.

Anastasia Kristensen now sits at the top table of the global techno sine. She emerged on a whirlwind a few years ago and has solidified her reputation with electrifying sets that traverse the bass, acid, IDM, rave and techno spectrum with style and captivating energy. Now she once again shows off her production chops with this new EP on her own new label absorb emit. It is the inaugural outing and sets out the sonic stall superbly - 'Cordyceps Disco' is frosty and thumping techno, 'Practice Of Menace' has a more minimal design but no lesser impact, 'Irregularity' rides on busted rhythms with well-swung hits and 'All At Once' is a nice 5am wig out for the late night hours and headier moments. A fine debut.

DJ Balduin is back with a new long player some five years after his last. This one comes on Kann Records and is another tasteful trip into the depths of electronic music with trip hop, breakbeat, ambient, tech house and techno all colouring the grooves. Importantly it is steeped in emotion with each of the well crafted sounds hitting a perfect sweet spot. Core to this is the artist's ability to craft perfect loops that can roll for days and never grate. "He doesn't like to think in categories," says the press text. "By reinterpreting genre-specific elements, discovering unheard soundscapes and with a good portion of nostalgia, he sculpts little stories that vibe on dance floors and in living rooms alike." Amen to that.

Sevensol, Map.ache and Bender's new Leipzig-based venture Long Vehicle presents its inaugural release here entitled "LV 1X". Featured are Harry Wills (Osman/Entity London) who serves up some groovy analogue minimal funk on his contribution "Sloshed", while A2 comes from local up and comer Tim Schlockermann (aka U.S. Coin Map) who gives us the utterly infectious "Locked" which you won't be able to get out of your head. On the flip, Mbius of Ethernal fame serves up more of his distinct blend of mesmerising deep house on standout track "Helge Nuch". Good first impressions of the label - tip!

Fastforward 2023, back on the highway with four twisted tracks from Rupert Marnie. The Hamburg based producer with a weakness for spicy japanese food and science fiction novels is part of The Press Group label and Remoto Recordshop, which both has been close to the LV musical mind and hearts – delivers the stuff we want to play with. Fail we may, sail we must.

Acid, Hardcore, Punk, Techno … Hardcore techno cover of the Classic punk track 70s blitzkrieg Bop by Ramones . 45 o 33? Choose your mood.

Levat has been around for a minute, sneaking out electro-techno crossover gear here and there, but this marks the mysterious producer's most sizeable release to date. It's Andrew James Gustav's Marginal Returns label which is carrying this sizeable double pack, which should give you an idea of the flexible party tackle on offer. There's personality bursting out of every one of these full-fat joints, at times touching on bleep techno and even swerving back to an 80s tinted sound on stand-out track 'Vai'. It's absolutely an album of club cuts, but with more than enough variety to keep all listeners engaged whether you're packing a record bag or vibing out at home.

Carl Hardy's Animals On Psychedelics label is catnip for lovers of freaky late-night sounds and serving up the latest sauce is Mathew Dexter. 'Mercurial' kicks off in snappy fashion with jittery synths panning about the mix over turbocharged breaks and next to cinematic vocal musings. 'Pro Nobis' is just as high octane and rhythmically restless, with plenty of psyched-out colours and retro motifs then 'Uplink' closes down with some moody atmospherics that take you to the edges of space. Another adventurous EP from this always-fresh label.

The Fuori Orario label is back after making a fine debut with another notable EP. This one fuses electro, acid and breaks into something fresh and comes from Trascendance, who you might better known as Riccardo from fine EPs on labels such as Imprints, Metropolita and Elma Rivaga. 'Ultraverse' is the sleek and serene opener with its gurgling acid lines and progressive melodies over tight, pent up beats. 'Glifico' then ducks and dives with a spooky and haunting late night feel and 'Sonicsenses' layers in all manner of freaky vocal whirs. 'Temporaton' is last up and has a dark heart and real menace.

Off The Grid unveils the second chapter of its label, this time with two tracks (A1 and B1) from Mataemon, an alter ego of Tolga Fidan, who puts his years of experience into forging two powerful cuts that balance the strengths of the past with the visions of the future, laying driving, deep and playful elements over steady grooves, raving straight from the heart.

SAIS005.5 — a companion piece to the PMA EP by B-2DEP’T released on SAISEI earlier this year — is a unique one-sided 10” EP featuring a remix by Uruguayan producer Z@p. The Phonoteque resident reworks ‘BSMH’ with a classic 80s electro beat and bassline, funking up the groove for all the breakdancers in the crowd. The original vocodered lyrics — “Body/Sonic/Mental/Health” — resonate today as much as they did back in 1993, acting as a mantra for a new rave generation.