Ø - Aste (Sahko) - LP originally released 1993, re-pressed May 2006
Ø - Metri (Sahko) - LP originally released 1993, re-pressed June 2005

Ø is Mika Vainio's (of Pan Sonic fame) solo project and these two records are startling for the fact that they are now over 16 years old! The thick weighty dollops of sub-bass that underpin just about every track on 'Aste' is the motif that gives it its character. Leaving Mika to flirt and tweak with a vast array of electrically-charged sounds on top. Namely crisp, razor-sharp percussion, elastic melodies and diffused effects. Most notable on subdued numbers like the astonishing 'Sukeltava'. The album ends on two weightless pieces that dissolve the 4/4 into the ether and jettison you into inner space.

On 'Metri', the ping-ping oscillation of the amusingly titled 'Twin Bleebs' is incredibly hypnotic and on the right systems, menacingly manevolent. The sinewave abyss of 'JL-CSG 1' instantly reminded me of the sort of tonal destruction that the likes of Hecker & Haswell are investigating. Seems that my memories of this when it first came out were obviously cloudy, as I don't recall the album being this dancefloor friendly. Tracks like 'Lasi' and 'Hion' sound like straight up acid techno and push this impenetrable looking but massively influental record into more accessible realms. If you don't have it then please don't bother reading my blog anymore.

Frank Bretscheider: Rhythm (Raster Noton) - LP originally released 2007

Now that I have this on vinyl (as opposed to illegally downloaded MP3) I feel that I can justify a review and proclaim this to be the best techno record ever. I've had the MP3 version since it came out and never realised that the entire album was broken up into seperate tracks. So the bit that I previously referred to as "Blips'n Bleeps Drum Break" or whatever is actually called 'We can remember it for you wholesale'. It's dressed up in the usual Raster-Noton clobber but is really here to dance, nuggets like the insanely sub-bass heavy 'Other Days Other Eyes' are pure electro-diode funk. As has been said elsewhere, you really need to play this loud, all the way up to 1011 (that's 11 in binary by the way).