We take a look through some of the very best techno, house and electronic music released in September.
Daniel Avery – Dusting For Smoke / Lone Swordsman
‘Dusting For Smoke’ is taken from Avery’s ‘Love + Light’ album from earlier this year and is a beguiling combination of Avery pads, a single loon-like synth motif and a superbly dark bassline. Tribute to Andrew Weatherall ‘Lone Swordsman’ is a much more contemplative affair that very gently recalls ‘Smokebelch II’ .
Sam Interface – Pink Dolphins EP
Brilliant forward-looking genre-blending four-tracker from the artist also known as SNØW, that mashes up ideas from jungle, afrobeats and UK funky into highly usable dancefloor winners. Progressive but with a nod to London’s musical history, title track ‘Pink Dolphins’ is a fluffy rave classic in the making.
Splinter – NECH003 EP
Ukraine’s Splinter’s latest raw techno EP is released on Nastia’s Necto imprint. Four tracks of pounding kicks paired with direct, industrial machine riffs, all precision-tooled for 3 am warehouse dance floors.
Metapattern – KR011
Quality package of intricate and detailed techno that comes with plenty of low end heft, the latest EP from Austria’s Metapattern has been picking up support from the likes of Hawtin and Plex. An intense, atmospheric and driving set of tracks.
Charlotte de Witte – Rave On Time EP
Strong four-tracker from Charlotte de Witte on her KNTXT imprint. The title track matches a distorted kick with distorted vocal snippets and sharp percussion, ‘There’s No One Left To Trust’ introduces a Detroit-esque stab on top of the relentless 4/4 while ‘The World Inside’ adds a tweaked acid line to the mix.
Perc – Fire In Negative
Uncompromising, relentless techno from Perc (UK producer Ali Wells), these four tracks absolutely hammer it from the word go. Diamond-hard, atonal and industrial, this is the kind of music that people describe as ‘taking no prisoners’.
Jaymie Silk – From The Club To The Bedroom
Another great genre-hopping package, this mini-album / EP from the producer and DJ from the Montreal Ballroom scene, Jaymie Silk, effortlessly references bass, deep house, breaks, techno and more. ‘Dance Music Is Black Music’ and ‘Angelina’ both deliver differently paced warm deep house while the rest of the album uses a broader sonic palette, with the broken kicks, laytered percussion and obtuse samples of ‘Amaho’ taking things in a more futuristic direction.
Jungle Wonz – Human Condition
Retro flavoured release from Marshall Jefferson’s Jungle Wonz project with Harry Dennis. ‘Human Condition’ features an old school mix of swirling chords and Chicago beats, all updated for the 21st century with a spoken word vocal tying it all together. Quality.
London Modular Alliance – Glass Cannon EP
The ‘Glass Cannon’ EP is a dose of heavy-duty electro and machine funk from London Modular Alliance. Also includes the superbly dark 4/4 tech shuffle of ‘Mom’s Knife’ and a tech-breaks re-rub from Censor boss Alex Jann to boot.
Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Heartbreak
Rinsing out 90s-esque breaks and Chris Wiltshire’s ‘I can’t take the heartbreak’ vocal from Weekend’s ’83 boogie classic, Bonobo and T.E.E.D. have produced a modern-day take on rave that is fresh and euphoric in equal measure.
Albums
Byron The Aquarius – Apron EP
It’s billed as an EP but with ten tracks we’re counting it as an album. Summertime soul-infused grooves and laid back jazzy down-tempo beats sit comfortably next to deep house in this collection from B.T.B. which draws on the soul, funk, jazz, house and garage tradition of black music whilst sounding totally contemporary.
Dom Kane – Artificial Roots
This full-length outing from Mau5trap artist and producer Dom Kane is a stately effort, ranging from sci-fi techno and moody electronica to more soundtrackesque tunes. Accomplished and sophisticated electronic music.
Róisin Murphy – Róisin Machine
Easily a contender for dance music album of 2020, Róisin Murphy‘s ‘Róisin Machine’ contains a series of DJ Parrot productions segued together to create a near-perfect album of the dankest, swaggering disco-tech you’ll hear this year. Highly, highly recommended.