Eleh: Floating Frequencies / Intuitive Synthesis III (Important Records) - LP originally released October 2008

'Phase One: Sleeps Golden Drones Again' is enclosed and tense; sawtooth alarm and slow air-raid siren made entirely of sub-bass matter. 'Phase Two: Bass Pulse In Open Air' is exactly that; bordering on the ambient, it's incredibly detailed and loaded with nuances that can only be appreciated on vinyl playback.

As the cover artwork truthfully states "Pure tone, pure sound, pure analog. Dedicated to Pauline Oliveros."

Eleh / Pauline Oliveros: The Beauty Of The Steel Skeleton / Drifting Depths (Important Records) - LP originally released 2008

Discovered the works of Eleh through Jon Wozencroft; graphic design supremo, one half of Touch and currently Senior Tutor in Art and Design at the Royal College of Art. I attended one of his 'Sound seminars' one night; a darkened room with the lights out. Students sitting on chairs in a disorganised fashion. Jon playing records on a loud system punctuated by brief verbal anecdotes.

Oozing vinyl fetishism (heavyweight pressings, drop dead gorgeous artwork, limited numbered editions) means that getting hold of the actual records is a total bitch. It's as if the label print up severely reduced amounts so that the lucky few can boast about or eBay them. This was the first thing I managed to get hold of and its a split 12" with drone-queen Pauline Oliveros. Her contribution sounds jagged and manevolent; like Sunn O))) in suspended animation. But Eleh's slow tonal drift will do funny things to the enclosed space that you inhabit and piss off your neighbours simultaneously.

If you've not got the appropriate playback device and attention span, don't even bother.

Kim Cascone: Anti-Musical Celestial Forces (Storung) - CD originally released November 2009

Stunning release from Kim Cascone; an early pioneer in computer music and microsound. A single thirty-minute montage of spoken word narrative, DSP, radio interference and field recordings. Narratively engaging with some incredible sonic detail; the closing phases introduce middle eastern atmosphere to wonderful effect.

Unlike me to talk about anything thats upcoming, but excited that the Mancunian masters of machine code manipulaton (I know yr impressed) are about to release their tenth (count 'em) album for Warp. Entitled 'Oversteps', initial listens give me the impression that they've focussed more on rhythms that humans can follow. 'Accessible' is too easy a word, but the influence of hip-hop is ever more evident. I'll have an in-depth (as opposed to half-assed) review quite soon.

More information about the album (as well as the stunning artwork from the supposedly defunct The Designers Republic) and an upcoming tour can be seen at http://www.autechre.ws

Various Artists: 5 Years of Hyperdub (Hyperdub) - CD originally released November 2009

Hyperdub have always peddled a more sophisticated, intelligent strain of bass music. But that doesn't mean you have get over analytical though. On the contrary, this is 32 creative variations on how low-end theory can enrich your life. Cherry picking tracks for singular praise seems unfair but I'm gonna do it anyway.

King Midas Sound's (aka The Bug and Roger Robinson) low swagger opener is confident and brash, Flying Lotus goes back to bass-ics with a nice pair of 'Disco Balls'. Burial's contribution is comforting as ever and the fantastic 'Tarantula' by Zomby is a cheeky homage to LFO (best track on this compilation too). On disc two, Burial's two cuts sound nostalgic and even more melancholic with age. Zomby sounds like he's extracting futurist pop from a PS3, while Joker's 'Digidesign' is nothing short of astonishing.

That's not to say the rest is filler, I just didn't give it that all important second glance.

DJ /rupture & Matt Shadetek: Solar Life Raft (theAgriculture) - CD originally released November 2009

Hella fun release from the doyens of outernational crate digging. A scattershot blend of dubstep, dub, dancehall and musique concrete (courtesy of Luc Ferrari). It's a geographically unrestrictive mix of 22 tracks over 55 minutes. For me the vocal tracks are the real stars; Pulshar's uncanny Scritti Politti impression on 'Mr Money Man' is my highlight. But the oddball vocal tics of Caroline Bergvall and the excellent distorto sleng-teng of Jahdan Blakkamoore come a close second. Like anything DJ /Rupture touches it's unexpected, thrilling and eclectic. Heck, you might even find yourself moving rhythmically to it!