Und: Coccopuffs (Trapez Limited 26) - 12"
Jan Autobahn: Traktor EP (Trapez Limited 27) - 12"
Franklin De Costa: The Call (Trapez Limited 29) - 12"
Markese: Bille Bambus (Trapez Limited 30) - 12"
Tampopo: Sellafield (Trapez Limited 32) - 12"

Slightly silly house excursion from Und; throwing in samples from breakfast cereal ads to bored tales of Arab Sheikh betrayals (not me). Only the opener 'Christmas' tries to keep on the straight and narrow, but ultimately this falls slightly flat on its face due to the enforced comic value.

The splendidly monikered Jan Autobahn turns in two statements of tense but predictable tech-house. Electro arpeggio's-a-go-go over a clunky house beat: filtered, but not that fun. However Franklin de Costa makes it all look way too easy with his two superior offerings on 'The Call'.

Markese decides to tone down the techno aspect of his work (check his previous 'Panorama' EP for a Detroit drive-by par excellence) and instead opts for playful melody pile-ups. But the results aren't really worth it; an unbalanced mix of minimal percussion and loud, raucous riffs.

But the clear winna in this evening's Trapez round up is Tampopo. 'Sellafield Two' drips with dangerous eroticism and hidden desire....well maybe it doesn't, but it certainly gave me the horn. A builder of epic proportions, this is one of the most refined statements the label has made.

Kelpe: Sunburnt Eyelids (DC Recordings) - 12"

Light, floaty bypass of Boards-inspired laptop hip-hop. Would haven't given it a second glance if it weren't so nicely done. Fractured digital techniques and smart micro snippets of vocal break up the lolloping rhythms. Might be an over-subscribed genre, but rarely has it been done so well.

Emperor Machine: Vertical Tones & Horizontal Noise Parts 1 & 2 (DC Recordings) - 2 x 12"

Got excited there for a second, thinking this was Emperor Machine's move away from DFA obsessed disco to youth-centric digital noise. But alas no, the title betrays the sci-fi charged mix of analogue synth sounds and cliched samples. This'll find favour with most, just not with me. Nice sleeves though.

Anders Ilar: Sand (Narita) - 12"

Being a Black Dog obsessive, I'm a sucker for any form of machine-music that flirts with easternism. When it's done right, it can be a hypnotic / addictive merging of styles. Sampling snatches of rhythm and melody off the likes of Mahmoud Fadl and stapling 4/4 beats on top though, isn't a good move. Luckily Anders Ilar manages to keep the theme subtle on these grainy, eerie, slightly rough sketches of filmic techno.

White Light Circus: Marching Orders (DC Recordings) - 12"

Um. I've really run out of ways to describe this sort of nonsense and I think I'll ignore anything else of this nature from now on. All you need to know is that someone called this 'Dope' in some barrel-scraping dance magazine review.

Dolphin & The Teknoist: Soul Cannibal / Closing Down (Planet Mu) - 12"

I'll assume that a lot of you don't listen to gabba. Understandable reasons: suspect DJ fodder, all sounds the same, slightly out-of-reach BPM's, the drugs need to be fucking good to enjoy it. But there are exceptions, like UK Hardcore heroes DJ Dolphin and The Teknoist. Teaming up for two blazing slices of ultra-spacious, well-crafted 70mm hyperspeed techno. Purchase anything by these guys or anything on the Deathchant label and you'll find hardcore that doesn't do dumb.