The ill-ec-tro-nic

As mentioned on these pages back in January, the debut release on Dark Arx Recordings was one that made me sit up and take note and set a high benchmark for subsequent output on the label to follow. Well, release number 2 is now upon us (has been for a couple of weeks actually) and this time it comes from label head Dark Arx himself and is most definitely a continuation of the initial high quality standards.

Where the first release hinted at a dubstep agenda, Dark Arx's Blood Vein EP places this medal proudly on its chest and in doing so propels the label forward into the dancefloor arena. Both Blood Vein and Streak meld stepper's rhythms with spacious techno sound palettes to deliver laid back yet totally danceable offerings that span the Berlin-Bristol divide. The third track on the EP, Argent and Sable, dispenses with the kick drum and makes a return to the kind of dub-infused electronica served up on the label's first release. The track doesn't so much unfold as kind of float along its four minute duration as the growling bassline bubbles away in the background while delayed effects pan across the speakers and a skittery hi hat keeps time before the track slowly edges back into the shadows.



To accompany the EP, comes another installment in the Dark Arx podcast series. Again, put together by Dark Arx himself, Podcast no.3 showcases the label's twin passions for dubstep and techno. As with all forward thinking DJs and labels, Dark Arx clearly has eyes on both the past and the present in order to help define the future. Podcast #3 takes on board techno classics from the likes of UR & Basic Channel and splices them together with modern day gems from scene heavyweights such as Dettmann and Scuba and emerging talents like Instra:mental and ill-ec-tro-nic faves Stroboscopic Artefacts.

Dark Arx - Podcast #3

All in all, both the EP and the podcast only serve to cement my initial inclination that Dark Arx was going to be an interesting little project to keep an eye. Roll-on release no. 3!

Labels: Dark Arx, Dubstep, Electronica, Techno

Until recently, the delights of the Highpoint Lowlife label were unknown to me but but over the past few weeks I've been giving some air time to some of their releases and have been generally delighted by the results. As with many a 'discovery' these days I first took note when something leapt through my headphones but due to my poor file keeping I wasn't quite sure where I'd got the tracks by 'Kwaidan' from. A search of discogs failed to provide any results and it was only when I noticed an e-mail bearing a similar catalogue number from the amongst the mountain of junk we get sent that I started to dig and realised that I'd been sat on a whole heap of promotional gems for way too long.

The Kwaidan tracks are kind of hard to describe as they don't sit easily with usual categorisations - there's definitely dubstep overtones remisicent of the likes of Skull Disco but at nearly 12 minutes long apiece, the two tracks on HPLL030 encompass so much more as they mutate along their trajectory taking in all manner of haunting wails and machine drones amidst the pervading dark atmosphere.

Kwaidan - Hoichi //HPLL030

Highpoint's roster is a pretty varied affair but from the handful of releases I've checked out, there's a strong electronica presence; a genre which seems to have been relegated to the lower leagues these days. Ranging from atmospheric textures through more dancefloor oriented experimentation all the way to distorted mentalism, Highpoint Lowlife is bound to have something for anyone with even a passing interest in this genre but for me the real gem in my current explorations comes from two Hungarian guys. I've not heard the original of Tigrics' Boko but the Friskfisk remix is simply stunning and up there with some of Aphex's finest moments - in fact had this come out on his Analord series from a few years back it would surely have been considered one of the standout tracks. The release notes that come with this one state that Friskfisk is somewhat reclusive, makes music for himself and his friends and has no intentions of getting anything else released - surely a tragedy if he has other moments of genius like this up his sleeve!

Tigrics - Boko (Friskfisk Remix) //HPLL035

As well as its openly experimental side, HPLL also releases more 'straight up' material such as Hot City's house rhythms or the dubtec stylings to be heard on Gravious' Futurist EP, the label's latest release.

Gravious - Jupiter Jazz //HPLL036

The final point of mention goes out to whoever's doing the mastering for these releases as, bar none, the sound quality on everything I've checked out is impeccable - not only loud but super crisp and really allowing all of the individual elements to breathe.

So, all in all, a damn good discovery and a label I'll definitely be keeping an eye on. Recent releases have all been digital only and can be purchased from the usual players such as Juno Download or Boomkat but the label also has it's own shop which you can access direct from their site.

Labels: Dubstep, Electronica, Friskfisk, Gravious, Highpoint Lowlife, Kwaidan, Tigrics

The wait is nearly over! The debut album by Dutch producer Martijn Deykers is finally here. Martyn was both myself and RAW's favourite producer of 2008, releasing a string of stunning 12"s and remixes which blurred the lines of Dubstep, Techno, 2-step and Drum 'n' Bass and which has seen him elevated to the top echalons of the Dubstep/Techno scene.

To say that this release is eagerly anticipated is somewhat of an understatement but from what I have heard so far it looks like the hype has been justified and Martyn has produced an album which fits perfectly into the new 'Dubtec' sound but has a much broader appeal and encompasses more genres than one would expect. Martyn describes his sound thus: "I think what makes music interesting is when an artist incorporates his/her influences and translates it into a unique sounding style," he explains. "Although it might sound a tad arrogant, I'd like to think of my music as 'Martyn music.' I try not to think of it as dubstep or techno, or house or drum & bass—it's not about genres, it's about music. This way I feel more freedom to make the music I want to make."

Great Lengths is out on 3024 on April 20th. Buy

1. The Only Choice
2. krdl-t-grv
3. right?star!
4. Seventy Four
5. Little Things
6. Vancouver
7. These Words (Ft. dBridge)
8. Bridge
9. Elden St.
10. Far Away
11. Hear Me
12. Is This Insanity? (Ft. Spaceape)
13. Brilliant Orange
14. Natural Selection

Labels: 3024, Dubstep, Dubtec, Martyn

As their name suggests, Various Production have long since established itself themselves as an act whose musical output is not going to be easily pigeonholed and with past efforts including everything from folktronica to dubstep, each new release brings with it the anticipation of whether it's going to better their previous high points and which direction they're going in this time round.

Various' Trycycle EP is due out on March 23rd on their own eponymously titled label and sees the duo keeping their trademark heavy beats but on 'B Side' in particular, taking on board influences from the wonky / aquacrunk sound that's been gathering momentum over the past year or so. As is often the case, Ramp sees Various bring a vocalist on board and this time the honours go to V.E.X. who spits out his urban rhymes to the accompaniment of sparse percussion and playful synths. Last up is the title cut which is a rather loopy instrumental outing and while pleasant enough, it brings less to the table than 'B Side' which for me is the real gem in this package.

Various Production - Trycycle // Various Production (Vars022)

Labels: Aquacrunk, Dubstep, Various Production

Labels: Dubstep, Dubtec, Mix, Mixes

Labels: Distance, Dubstep, Headhunter, Planet Mu, Starkey, Tempa

Despite their long running and prolific release schedule, Planet Mu isn't a label that I know a great deal about as I've always associated it with the more caustic end of IDM (something which I can only take in small doses). However, I was recently given some of the label's latest releases and although the crazed breakbeat of Venetian Snares' Detrimentalist resulted in a fairly short slot on the CD player, it was the efforts of two artists that I'd not heard of previously that tickled my ear buds and have been on frequent rotation since.

The Standoffish Cat (dodgy title!) is the debut LP from Mrs Jynx and is 13 tracks of electronica goodness. While none of the tracks are particularly groundbreaking they are all high quality mixes of floaty melodies and clicky percussion and if you've been hankering after the good old days of mid 90s electronica then this album should be just up your street.

Mrs Jynx - Time Missed //The Standoffish Cat

Buy The Standoffish Cat here.

iTAL tEK is another relatively new producer with only a handful of EPs ahead of his first full long player here. Cyclical shows off another of dubstep's many facets only this time it's luscious electronica melodies that have been thrown into the melting pot to spice up the sparse rhythms and gargantuan sub-bass.

iTAL tEK - Cyclical //Cyclical

Buy Cyclical here.

And for those of you that are fans of the slightly more deranged face of Planet Mu's releases, here's something from label owner Mike Paradinas from a few years back:

u-Ziq - Siege of Antioch //Bilious Paths

Buy Planet Mu here.

Labels: Dubstep, Electronica, iTAL tEK, Mrs Jynx, Planet Mu, u-Ziq

Appleblim and Peverelist - Circling // Skull Disko 008

2562 - Channel Two // Tectonic

Peverelist - Junktion // Tectonic

Appleblim has just mixed Vol 6 of Dubstep Allstars. Buy.
The new album 'Aerial' by 2562 is released on Tectonic on June 2nd. Buy. Check out the review at FACT
Buy Peverelist and listen to his remix of Pole here.

Labels: 2562, Appleblim, Basic Channel, Dubstep, Skull Disco, Techno, Tectonic

Check this slab of bleeping good madness from Dubstep's dancefloor master, Skream. This sounds like a mad Aphex Twin style slice of Electro designed with one thing in mind. Moving bodies.

2-D has an instantly catchy hook which which breaks down into some mad sonic glitch territory (aka Windowlicker) and then reverses the sounds from the melody which makes you want to move your body backwards just to keep up! Genius.

Skream - 2-D // Tempa

This track is taken from The new double pack, Skreamizm Vol 4 out now on Tempa records. Pick up a copy from Boomkat

Labels: Dubstep, Skream, Tempa

Ill-ec-tro-nic was recently featured in The Guardian in a round up of the best blogs to feature free music online. Check out the article here. Now of course the pressure is on to keep up with the new posts and give all you new readers some new content.

To start with let me introduce our regular monthly DJing sessions in the bar down at Cafe 1001 in Brick Lane, London.
Every second Thursday of the month you can hear myself and RAW spin the latest electronic tunes that are currently floating our boat. Joining me this Thursday (10th) will be Bauer, Mark Solo and Goodhand from Stuff Records straight out of Glasgow.

So expect multiple assortments of the finest electronic beats and come join us for a drink.

I couldn't leave without giving you a couple of tasters of what you might expect so here are the following treats.

Andy Stott - Hostile // Modern Love

This metallic gem featured in my Top 40 of 2007 and is a slab of straight up Basic Channel style Techno.
Buy the full 320 kbps MP3 or the 12" from Boomkat.

Next is a track I only got introduced to a couple of months ago but it immediately had me hooked. 'Qawwali' by Pinch was originally released on Plant Mu records back in 2006 but features on Pinch's new LP 'Underwater Dancehall' on Tectonic. The track has been renamed 'Brighter Day' and appears as a vocal version featuring Juakali and also as an instrumental. It's a sparse Dubstep masterpiece.

Check out samples and pick up a copy at Phonica.

Pinch - Qawwali // Planet Mu

Labels: 1001, Andy Stott, Dubstep, Modern Love, Pinch, Planet Mu, Techno, Tectonic

Two massive remixes here.

Firstly it is (now everyone's favourite) Dubstep producer Burial giving his trademark refix to Bloc Party. This is taken from their 12" Flux

It is textbook Burial with rain samples, 2 step beats, haunting atmospherics, a beguiling melodic hook and snatched vocal samples. This could have easily sat on his album Untrue.

Bloc Party - Where is Home (Burial Remix) // Wichita

Buy the 12" at Juno





Next is a simple Tech-House tune from Dubfire that has been given Matthew Dear's Audion treatment.

This is another classic Audion remix. It reminds me somewhat of his Hot Chip remake with echoey vocal moans and a simple analogue riff. This though is taken up to the next level halfway through the track with a huge 'French Kiss' style slow-mo breakdown and soaring synths that will have you going loopy on the dancefloor. Massive.

Dubfire - I Feel Speed (Audion Remix) // SCI + TEC Digital Audio

Buy the full 320 kbps version at Beatport

Labels: Audion, Bloc Party, Burial, Dubfire, Dubstep, Electronic, Remixes, Techno

Burial - Near Dark // Hyperdub

Burial - Etched Headplate // Hyperdub EDIT: REMOVED BY REQUEST

Full Track list:

1. Untitled
2. Archangel
3. Near Dark
4. Ghost Hardware
5. Endorphin
6. Etched Headplate
7. In McDonalds
8. Untrue
9. Shell Of Light
10. Dog Shelter
11. Homeless
12. UK
13. Raver

Untrue is released 5th November. Buy it at Boomkat and all good record stores.

Burial Myspace
Read an exclusive interview with Burial over at FACT magazine

Labels: Burial, Dubstep, Hyperdubs

Labels: Burial, Dubstep, Electronic, Hyperdubs

There's been a lot of talk in recent months about techno and dubstep getting ever closer and Villalobos' remix of Shackleton's Blood on my Hands has been one of the most hyped records of the year.

It finally got released this week and weighs in at 18 minutes of extremely dark minimalism.

It's out on the prolific Skull Disco label who have had a number of critically acclaimed releases which have now been collated onto a double pack CD also out this week.

Shackleton - Blood on my Hands (Villalobos Apocalypso mix) // Skull Disco

You can buy Skull Disco releases here.

Sleeparchive is another of the techno heavyweights to have dabbled in this genre, co-producing the excellent LAC / Russia 12" on Stamp Release earlier this year. Check the speaker-shaking results below and pick up a copy here.

Stamp Release - Russia // Stamp Release

Labels: Dubstep, Electronic, Minimal, Ricardo Villalobos, Shackleton, Skull Disco, Techno

Labels: Crosstown Rebels, Dubstep, Electronic, Get Physical, Hyperdubs, Minimal, Minus, Techno