iPod Dice Shuffle (photo by Sandra)

Just to be complete (I'm not doing this for anyone else's benefit). Reports and pictures of recent gigs that deserve some kind of coverage somewhere will be making their way here. Including an astonishing performance by Squarepusher and a bank holiday weekend of gash, grime and greatness.

And in case you can't be fucked. All the following records are ace.

Noto: Autopilot / Autorec (Raster Noton) - Book / CD

Perfectly bridging the digital chasm between experimental art and the traditional notions of 'electronic' music. Noto aka Carsten Nicolai has carved a career from jumping between these two plinths with ease. Able to ponder the meaning of frequencies in clinical art establishments to dishing out pixel-pop funk at Spanish music events (his Sonar 2004 performance justified the entry fee for the entire festival.)

This is a beautifully presented visual and aural document. The theories discussed are way too dense to wrap up in a blog entry. But the aesthetics of what techno should 'look' like are captured here perfectly. The framing of light, hardware and motion allows a vista for the accompanying CD to work in. Signal manipulation that only the very best playback equipment will render to any satisfactory degree.

The Black Dog: Silenced (Dust) - CD

The Black Dog used to be three. Then two went to the land of Plaid and one remained to fight dull music industry meetings. More industry and less music. But time has proved kind to this canine and now, back with three members, they give us 'Silenced'.

The same motifs that made earlier works so enthralling are all there. Mystic nods to eastern musics, a compressed sound that evokes sparse dub and an almost live / loose feel to sequences. It's ambient, sure, but you cant use it as aural wallpaper. The opening hip-hop limp of 'Trojan Horus', 'Alt/Return/Dash/Kill's gentle Orbital homage, the filmic acid of 'Remote Viewing'.

To cheekily quote from a review of their classic Bytes. There are no hits, but then no misses either. It proves you don't have to be Eno-loving dullard to enjoy ambient music.

Secret Frequency Crew: Forest of the Echo Downs (Schematic) - CD

Oddball, disjointed but highly original mesh of staple electronica and downtempo haze. Snatches of real instrumentation in the form of brass / wind instruments and vocals evident in amongst the subtle DSP. The sensible running time means that unavoidable replays will reveal even more smart collaging.

'Neon Bridge's micro hip-hop reminds me of Bomb The Bass's more esoteric forays. 'Holographic Moon Owl's eventual descent from smooth trip-hop to 8-bit acid is fun to intake. 'Baron of the Bog' comes on like some twisted, nightmarish Portishead tribute. The gentle guitar lullaby of 'Forest Floor' desperately needs to be expanded upon. But the night-drive getaway of 'Photovonic Inchworms' beggars belief, taking on new melodic turns and twists right up to the end.

As labelmates Phoenecia explore their Miami environments via abstract digital analysis, the SFC explore similar terrain via textural mood and weight. Everything here feels searingly hot, music to hang in the twilight air. Supreme.

Julian Fane: Special Forces (Planet Mu) - CD

Will take time to convince some, but this could be the hidden gem in Planet Mu's catalogue. OK, so those who have already indulged in the likes of Sigur Ros and The Flaming Lips will recognise the tone of plangency throughout the album. Comparisons are inevitable and occasionally it does stray too close (listen to 'Safety Man' and tell me you don't hear Mercury Rev).

But an interest in low-level coded rhythms and Mu-ziq approved distortion stops the album from turning into one long post-rock cliche. So the seven minute Lynch-inspired freefall of 'The Birthday Boys' is jarringly interrupted by the metal clang of 'Taoist Blockade'. His "tender and fragile" vocals being jackhammered by robots on 'Darknet'.

Wang Inc.: Woods Roads (Context) - CD

Quirky, electic....weird. Some of the words that spring to mind during this organically produced foray into micro-electronics. Out-of-focus phases of click house occasionally remind you as to why this came out on Sutekh's label. But other than that, this is discreet audio rendering.

Folded rhythms unfold into patterns of nature. The recurring themes of wood, water and travel are the product of inspiration of a specific event. A road trip across the Pacific Northwest. Terrain that was previously explored in American cinema now has a suitably up-to-date soundtrack.