Viennese girl duo who craft an incredibly detailed piece of contemporary computer music. Sourcing guitar and turntable through their custom built Max patches. It being on Mego suggests exploration of extremes, but not so. Sure, there are moments where it peaks into the red ('Schwarzchild'), but on the whole this is really playful stuff. Occupying the higher end of the frequency spectrum means everything sounds crisp and close to the ear. Industrial rumblings on 'Kirre' suddenly plummet the listener into sub-bass territory, whilst the beautifully ambient 'Syne' reminds me of Ryoji Ikeda. Tense, tactile and genuinely experimental.

Annette Krebs / Toshimaru Nakamura: Siyu (SoSEditions) - CD

Beautiful, if slightly impractical (CD always manages to fall out of its cradle) packaging suckered me into getting this from the racks of Sound 323. Not familiar with Kreb's stuff at all, but Nakamura is the shit. I remember his 'Vehicle' album being an engaging, accessible and surprisingly rhythmic piece of work. Here it's much more restrained, this is the sort of Electroacoustic improvisation that barely registers on the EQ. 'Wrr' is a narratively considered series of tones, crackles and clicks all still manage to get under the skin. The second ('Bsb') of the two tracks makes more of an impact. As if the hermetically sealed vacuum that occupied track one is slowly exposed to the environment and uncontrollable external forces.

Paul White: The Dragon Fly (One-Handed Music) - 7"

Aligned with the oh-so-current strand of dense, cinematic hip-hop being spear-headed by the likes of Flying Lotus. This almost outdoes the LA-based pioneer in terms of scope and execution. The A-side prowls street corners at night with a confident swagger, but its the gentler B-side that stands out. A searing Detroit Techno bassline holds together intense vocal choir and clipped rhythms. It doesn't do much else, but then as Karl from Soul Jazz pointed out to me "It doesn't need to...". Wise words.

Popol Vuh: Nachts: Schnee / Aguirre I (Editions Mego) - 12"

Popul Vuh were one of the most innovative bands to come out of the whole Krautrock movement during the seventies. And whilst a lot of their later output could be deemed as New Age rubbish, it was their frequent collaborations with legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog that resulted in their best work. 'Nachts - Schnee' (taken from the soundtrack to 1987's 'Cobra Verde') is gently manipulated by Pan Sonic's Mika Vainio. He allows the undulating orchestral ambience to provide the canvas, whilst he alters the flow with digital interrupts and echo.

Computer music terrorists Haswell & Hecker rework the stunning 'Aguirre 1' from the 1972 film of the same name. A benchmark ambient classic and thankfully H&H avoid mangling it beyond repair. They let the haunting original run for a while before the laptop-emitted mayhem starts to run riot. Strangely enough the mix of lambent chords and harsh algorithmic noise works. An inspired collaboration if ever there was one.

That's Mark up there, looking pensive....but don't let his stern looks fool you. He runs one of the most startling record shops you've never heard of. Sound 323. In North London's leafy Highgate, sells an incredible range of music. The majority of which you wont find in the major chains and even in Soho. This is music that lives 'under the radar', 'on the fringes' and definitely not in most people's record collections.

Since I first visited it in 2005 (its been operating since 2000), its been an essential part in redefining my musical taste (not that I had any to begin with). But there's a charm in walking into a record shop and not recognising the vast majority of releases. Avant Garde, Musique Concrete, Noise, Ambient, Drone, Free Jazz, Improvisation....you get the picture. Initially dedicated to the CD format, it has since expanded to include books, DVD's, artifacts and vinyl.

Both Sound 323 and the recently opened Alternative Music Distribution have suddenly made Highgate the new hub for truly adventurous, independent music. I'd be silly if I said that it was all to my liking, but I'm glad they exist and hope more people venture beyond Camden on the Northern Line for new music.

And since last year, the basement (previously used for hosting impromptu gigs) has been cleared to make way for Second Layer Records. Initially a one man bedroom operation which deals with the more rougher, DIY, extreme end of music. Alongside CD's, its awash with vinyl, fanzines, DVD's, t-shirts, cassettes and tambourines (!). There's some crossover, but it compliments activities upstairs perfectly. Between them, covering everything that almost everyone else chooses to ignore.

But the great thing now (and the main reason for this post) is that you can experience Sound 323 online. In my professional guise, we (that is myself and business partner Vijay as FAIL) have developed a brand spanking new site for the shop. It replaces the ageing online store they had and functions much smoother (but of course, we'd say that). But there's an agreed roadmap of features and improvements and we're hoping to introduce them over the coming months.

Won't get a chance elsewhere so props to: Vijay Mahrra, Ayla Sancaktaroglu, Mark Wastell, Jonathan Webb, Pete Johnstone, Damien Beaton and Brian Marley.

The new Sound 323 website is available at http://www.sound323.com. Tell them Sheikh sent you (though that might not guarantee any favours!)

Atmospheres 2: Hauntology Now
Monday 12th May 2008
Museum of Garden History, Lambeth Palace Road, London

Part of the Atmospheres festival organised by South London's Touch label which saw four days of accessible, experimental music within the humble confines of Lambeth's Museum of Garden History. The night before saw Fennesz twatting the sound system for all its worth. But tonight was more concerned with subtlety, immersion and apparitions.

As a collective term, Hauntology has great potency and potential. Besides the myriad of ideas that it possesses based on concepts of time (historical) and space (locations and events). Musically it can be quite an interesting thing in itself, appealing to the likes of me due to its kinship with dub music. But with labels like Ghost Box and artists like Burial summoning spirits on recent work, it seems there's enough momentum to examine this further.

Sadly things didn't get off to a good start when The Caretaker failed to show up due to illness. His extensive discography has meant he's been at the forefront of examining how artificial degradation of old music can be an artform in itself. So it was left up to Kode 9 and Spaceape to rattle the cobwebs. Their lengthy set was on the whole impressive, opening with a layered wash of fuzz, static and industrial-grade dub. Fragmented snippets of mobile phone conversations and pirate radio were inspired and the use of sub-bass seemed uncontrollable and deadly. Settling itself in amongst the concrete, stone and marble.

But the temptation to avoid lapsing into dubstep proved too great and when it did arrive, I quickly found myself losing interest. Where rhythm was previously undefined and subject to change, now took on a more familiar shape. And it became clear that Spaceape was clearly running out of things to say. It would have been better for him to ease off the chatter occasionally to help amplify some of Kode 9's incredible detail.

Philip Jeck's set was nothing short of magnificent though. His uplifting repertoire of fanfares, chimes and bells that featured so heavily on his recent album 'Sand' filled every crevice and arch with sound. The unique acoustics of the high structure proving to be the perfect amplifier. As night drew and artificial street light streamed in via the windows, the interior became less defined. Visually narrating Jeck's turntablist alchemy.

Secondo: A Matter of Scale (Soul Jazz) - CD

I sat opposite some random customer a few weeks back at my favourite local Cheers-style tapas restaurant ("where everyone knows your name"). In that week when we had blazing sun before it all went tits up. He was sporting a bright yellow 'Soul Jazz Records' T-shirt (and he was wearing suspect shorts and flip-flops, but we'll ignore those for now). After initiating the usual "I'm a serious music lover" conversation to synchronise interests, I asked him what he thought of the label. The conversation went something like this:

"Yeah mate, wicked re-issues, big soul fan here."
"What about the new stuff?"
"What new stuff?"
"All that dancehall, dubstep and disco..."
"Didn't realise it was all new, thought it was all re-releases. They're called Soul Jazz, aren't they?"

Hearty laugh from him, smirk and head nod from me. Back to our drinks. Perfectly highlighting the identity crisis that I've always thought the Soho-based label has had. So, it'll be interesting to see where Secondo's debut album fits in to the scheme of things. Swiss-born London-based Radovan Scasascia has spent the last eight years fine tuning his fragmented take on techno via his excellent Dreck Records label.

'Kuwait' is the "eye of the duck" track. Posessing the same feverishly uptempo and dancefloor friendly qualities as his previous singles. Simultaneously triggering sonic notes from the worlds of computer-based disco, 80's funk and loop-obsessed German Techno (think Errorsmith and MMM). It's all about the positioning of that slap bass.

Couple of downtime / abstract moments, where the spaces between notes aren't so obvious, would have been welcome. Rhythm wise, nothing really veers too far off the linear route. The introductory 'Ought to say' skips and jumps in way that'll catch you out whilst the departing 'Fine Primo Tempo' hints how things could have spiralled off into obtuse tangents.

SND: 4,5,6: (SND) - 3 x 12"

Pointless me reviewing this, 'cos I think they are greatest thing since toasted sandwich makers. But hell, I'll give anything a go. So, SND. They made loads of totally ace albums when 'glitch' was at the height of fashion, including some for the revered Mille Plateaux label. Then people stopped listening to electronic music, turning their attention to guitars and haircuts. And they wisely used all their Northern intuition and stopped making records, turning their attention to life and art installations. 2008, most people still aren't listening to electronic music, but they should be....

Flying Lotus: Reset EP / Harmonic 313: EP1 (Warp) - CD

Two examples of astutely-produced 2008-edition techno masquerading under the guise of hip-hop. Flying Lotus' debut for Warp is just about perfect. This particular reviewer liking how he can zip through five tracks in about 18 minutes. The opener of 'Tea Leaf Dancers' is the one we'll all keep coming back to. I wonder if I'll manage to sustain the attention span for the album. He's related to Coltrane family don't you know....

Mark Pritchard has such a ridiculous discography spanning so many genres that you start to worry about the man's sanity. His latest project is Harmonic 313. A progression, we presume, from his previous work as Harmonic 33. The addition of the extra digit nudges references to Detroit. Both equally to the movements of Techno and to the more recent innovations in hip-hop as laid down by J Dilla. Speak'n Spell vocals, crunchy-nut beats and dollops of gloopy bass all work around highly efficient melody. The initial serving of 'Word Problems' doesn't get bettered though.

Autechre / SND
Tuesday 4th March 2008
Hearn Street Car Park, Shoreditch, London

Despite being on for just 30 minutes, SND were nothing short of stunning. Partly decked out in standard techno issue North Face gear and resolutely refusing to engage with the audience. Their workmanlike demeanour seemed to fit, as the display of rhythmic disintegration became ever complex over the course of their set. Their unique palette of manipulated drum and MIDI melodies sounded urgent and new. Hardware / software upgraded to compete in the current climate. Abstract dancehall collapsing inwards whilst extreme frequencies re-arranged bowels. This is how dance music should be sounding like in 2008.

If SND came across as distant, then Autechre are positively dysfunctional. Partly decked out in standard techno issue North Face gear and resolutely refusing to engage with the audience (northerners, eh?). Generate your own conclusions about what the lack of any visual stimulus does to the performance as they kill all the lights....."move along, there's nothing to see here." But sonically speaking, for about an hour, the boys from Rochdale did their best to level Shoreditch.

The shock of it this time round was its deceptively accessible entry point. Taking cues from electro and mousing it apart ever so gently threw everyone off....like, we can actually dance to this? Nothing was recognisble, everything was familiar. Certainly no reference points to any historical work and nothing from the recent 'Quaristice' album either. The constant mutation, intense tempo and exemplary playback device resulted in an incredible, immersive experience.

A welcome reissue from one of the originators of mind-bending computer music. Peter Rehberg's 1999 release seems to have been influential in the sphere of modern electronic composition. Especially with regards to the use of the laptop as a creation and performance tool. Despite the occasional ear-scraping bursts of digital noise, this doesn't come close to the harsher end of the Mego spectrum. Certainly doesn't use software as a device for sonic violence or wanton aggression. It also hasn't dated one iota....

'3' is the track that you'll remember this album for: the jarring introduction of uplifting, almost euphoric strings that slowly descend into overdriven distortion still sounds great. '6' is gigabit data passing through an echo chamber, '9' takes harsh source material and moulds it into hypnotic drone. The three extra new tracks which previously appeared over a split release with Kevin Drumm extend the scope of the original work with distinctive, thematic excursions: feminine glitch ('ce3'), unreliable connections ('pe2') and distressed radio frequencies ('tr1').

Philip Jeck: Sand (Touch) - CD

One of those artists I knew I'd like....good sounding surname, has nicely packaged albums out on the Touch label, uses vinyl. But somehow I'd never managed to immerse myself proper in any one of his long players. Whilst his back catalogue has always been there for instant consumption (from a career spanning 13 years), it's nice to be presented with something 'new'.

Carefully considered loops are run through that detuned radio effect that he seems to have patented. The source material consisting of filmic strings, bells, chimes and most effectively brass instrumentation sampled from Emerson Lake & Palmer's 'Fanfare For The Common Man'. It all sounds pleasant enough but the sudden shifts as frequencies pile up from the decay can jolt you. Low-end notes dissolve into weighty fuzz and speaker-troubling distortion whilst high end artefacts can cut through the recording with a burst of white noise.

That's Folke Rabe up there. An important figure for those even remotely interested in all that drone, experimental tonal weirdness that some of you youngsters listen to. His 1968 piece 'What??' is a seminal piece of electronic music. Hardly a recognisable figure but he seems to have the likes of Jim O'Rourke frothing at the mouth. And you couldn't really call it a prolific discography, but feel the quality, not the quantity.

Here's more from the O'Rourke: "For me, one of the most mysterious composers was Folke Rabe. I had gotten his “Was??” and was from that moment, hooked. I can honestly say there is probably no piece of music I have heard more in my life than this one. Those 20+ minutes were all that existed for me. Fittingly, those minutes became eternal."

So I guess now you have some background information and I'm sure some will try to find the recordings on the p2p networks (don't bother), failing that you'll try to seek out the recently (2006) released 'Argh!' CD on Kning Disk (worth it for the inlay photo's alone). The next logical step would be to try to see him perform live.

Well it's like waiting for buses, you wait forever and then two performances come at once! As part of No-Signal's ambitious Swedish Outsiders mini festival here in London on the 17th - 18th May. Saturday sees everything kick off at the ICA, whilst Sunday sees the action relocate closer to the 'kids' in Dalston's Cafe OTO. Rabe plays the early afternoon session on his tod, but is joined in the evening by the likes of Mats Gustaffson, Evan Parker and (the excellent) Tape. I'll be DJ'ing AIFF files off my Macbook in the cafe bit.

Sunday's stint has Hans Appelqvist, Phil Durrant and Henrik Rylander, who impressed me the last time I saw him play at Sonar. The whole thing reeks of quality (unlike Sweden's most famous furniture brand) and quite frankly you'd be a bit mental to miss it....unless you don't actually live in London.

Full information and tickets available from http://no-signal.net/SEoutsiders

Its original scope exceeds the limitations of the CD format: eight hour running time, narrative structure through Csihar's lyrics / text and elaborate playback model (3 seperate systems, 18" subwoofers, PA tops inside large rooms). But somehow, the brief 30 minute extract on this release manages to preserve all of this. Ok, I don't think I could stomach the entire thing and at times Csihar does sound like a drunk rugby fan lost inside an empty pub. But the shifts from high-end drone to speaker-troubling low end are welcome and the occasional howling screams of O'Malley's guitar are genuinely unsettling.

Willits + Sakamoto: Ocean Fire (12k) - CD

With two artists working in such neighbourly fields, it's difficult to tell who contributes what. Tokyo's Sakamoto is reknowned for pairing up with numerous artists from the electronic field. Whilst San Francisco's Willits has made some impression with his regular link-ups with 12k boss Taylor Deupree. Sure, it's dark, brooding and filmic like you'd expect, but it's nothing more. There are no suprising twists or turns to elevate this from what I was expecting. The better tracks appear near the end of the album, when elements of drone creep in and shift the mood away from glitchy activity. As an album of ambient music though, it works fine; background / wallpaper / music to compliment furniture....just don't expect anything challenging.

Ersen: Ersen (Finders Keepers) - CD

Part of Finders Keepers' Anatolian Invasion series of releases, which has so far given us welcome re-issues from Selda and Mustafa Ozkent. From tales of LA Hip-hop producers discovering his material buried in antique record stores to corporate British shoe manufacturers using his work to soundtrack global advertising campaigns merely lengthen his already productive 40 year career. Despite being a compilation, it's stylistically tight, hand picked from his mid-seventies 'Anadolu rock' period. Where thick gloopy funk basslines, catchy clearly defined riffs and ridiculously tight percussion provide impressive backing to his impassioned delivery.

Whitehouse
Saturday 5th April 2008
Electrowerkz, Torrens Street, London

For reasons that I'd rather keep to myself, I ended up accompanying a friend to see the music documentary 'Shine A Light'. Showcasing two talents who should have really fucked off years ago: the film director Martin Scorsese and The Rolling Stones. Admittedly not a Stones fan by any stretch of the imagination, this slickly made ego trip did nothing to convince me to add any of their back catalogue to my collection....legal or otherwise. It seemed overblown, pompous and self-indulgent.

Similar criticisms could be leveled at Whitehouse. Not quite having a career as long as the Stones, but still impressively operating since 1980. William Bennett's 'Power Electronics' outfit is one of those acts that you have an opinion on very early on. There's no "oh, maybe some of their earlier stuff is different" approach to their previous works. Or even appreciating it over time, letting age and attitude alter your perception of them. It's a simple case of you either love them or hate them.

When discussing Whitehouse, I often find myself speaking in an almost apologetic tone. Trying to make sense of why a well-heeled Asian lad from Islington would want to listen to something so....'horrible'. But I do like Whitehouse. I'd never stopped to think that their lyrical content could be seen as offensive. I was just glad someone was out there doing this. Whilst I think that extremes in music are limits that can always be re-defined, Whitehouse did initially prompt such questions as 'How much further could it go?'.

So it comes to pass that William has tired of touring and decided to rest the project, whilst co-conspirator Philip Best will continue on in a similar vein as Consumer Electronics. Tonight kicked off a farewell tour and the crusty stronghold of London's Electrowerkz (that place needs a good hosing down...with disinfectant) seemed an apt way to say goodbye to the capital.

So for one hour: Sony Vaio / Toshiba Tecra spat out a constant stream of white noise, pink noise and collapsing drums. Philip licked his personal diary dry whilst emitting his unique brand of obscene venom. William interjected with his curiously humourous monotone delivery. And by the end of it all, they'd stripped off to the waist, engaged spit with nipples to trigger excitement and feverishly simulated sex with each other. Can't really see the Stones doing that on stage.

On the way back from the bar, I overheard one guy trying to explain Whitehouse to his unitiaited friend and clearly exasperated, summarised them as "The Spinal Tap of Industrial Music....only not as bad."

Second Layer Records presents Whitehouse, Ramleh, Dissention
Saturday 5th April 2008
Electrowerkz, Torrens Street, London

That's Whitehouse up there, when I saw them last at Russell Haswell's ATP night at Camden's Koko in June 2005. Was quite fun, until they got bottled off stage and left after 15 minutes. Anyway, after a quite a considerable amount of time together, they've decided to part company. William continuing on as Whitehouse, whilst Philip does his Consumer Electronics thing.

So their final London show will form part of a night of nihilist noise and power electronics at London's Electrowerkz on the 5th April. Organised by the lovely Pete who runs Highgate's Second Layer Records, it'll also feature Philip with his Ramleh buddies and Dissention. The duo of Stefan Jaworzyn (guitar) and the jaw-dropping Chris Corsano (drums).

I'll be DJ'ing as Fail HDJ in between. I've been told to avoid noise, but also not to give them an easy ride. I reckon lots of bass-heavy material and strategic rhythmic exercises. Think Basic Channel / Haswell & Hecker / Pan Sonic: material that should test the top floor sound system to its limits.

Tickets available here.

Fantastic release from 2003 (yes I know, but the promo CD had nothing written on it), musique concrete meets abstract dub techno. Architect Thomas McIntosh and composer Emmanuel Madan were well known for their sound art releases. Their works thematically sticking to the concept of abandoned systems (buildings, hardware, processes) to provide their source material. This time the location is the Port of Montréal's Quai des Ecluses. A series of grain storage cylinders, from which they hung loudspeakers and microphones. Rigged them up to a sound mixing console and manipulated the controls to create feedback inside the cylinders: the ultimate echo chamber.

The process is fascinating in itself, but it's not really that important. The end results are disjointed / disturbing exercises in sub-bass ambience. Tones and pulses whose resonance takes on a life of its own, metallic scrapes frozen by blizzard winds, and drone....plenty of it. This should sit nicely alongside the recent rash of dark metal releases as well those with an interest in field recordings. Also reminded me of the fact that, besides some forgettable turntablist and illbient (remember that?) nonsense, Asphodel is a pretty smart label.

Mecha / Orga: 56:24 (Absurd) - CD

Mecha / Orga aka Georgios (Yiorgis) Sakellariou is an Athens based electronic musician who also founded the Echomusic imprint. A label hardly renowned for its prolific output (count 'em - 9 releases in 4 years). Initial rumblings suggest that it's following the drone rulebook to a tee, building up in layers and volume over a sustained period of an hour. But the subtle melodic shifts are nicely judged and repeat listens will reveal the true nature of this work. Note that superior playback systems will yield the best results, this is Grecian drone of the highest calibre....just watch those levels.

Fennesz: Transition (Touch) - 7"

Always feel like I've had my fill of Fennesz, despite his continuing development with every long player, I find it impossible to see how he could really improve upon 2001's 'Endless Summer' (and you know I'm right). Plus his recent live shows were less than impressive, spending more time on guitar tweakery than laptop analysis. Having said all that, this is as fresh and as invigorating as I've ever heard him. A single 8 minute track split across two sides. Crystalline suspension and dormant drone slowly disperse to make way for heart-wrenchingly precise guitar work. So business as usual then.

Ricardo Villalobos: Enfants (Sie Es Drum) - 12"

Hearing this for the first time in the cardboard box enclave that is the basement of Soho's Sounds of the Universe, I never would have guessed this was the work of Chilean's spiritual minimal house leader. It would be too easy to dismiss this as watered down world music that should really be soundtracking some horrible fucking car advert. But it has grand designs in its scope: child song, supressed drum patterns and tempered piano add up to an emotionally charged 15 minutes. So, to summarise: the kids are great but the flip side is pretty rubbish.

Cacao: Tropisms (Cacao) - MP3

Comfortably sitting inside the folder marked 'next generation glitch', this is a confident and rewarding listen. 'Tropism 1' is the slightly more successful of the two tracks on offer. Ever-mutating string / piano are held in a linear position whilst washes of computer crackle rise and fall below. 'Tropism 2' reminds me of early Animal Collective and Full Swing material, especially that 'Summer' 12" on Orthlong Musork (that's a positive thing, for those that didn't get the reference). Their earlier works clearly document their development and are also worthy of investigation. Available from http://www.quotesque.net/cacao

Upset The Rhythm
Tuesday 29th January 2008
Bardens Boudoir, Stoke Newington Road, London

The smell of lemon-scented cologne and cooked meats of Stoke Newington High Road instantly threw me back to the streets of Istanbul where I had been a few weeks earlier. From the wedding planners to the furniture stores, everything a startup Turkish family needs is all here. Located below one such emporium is Bardens Boudoir: home to the youth of Dalston and tonight home to another one of Upset The Rhythm's excellent showcases.

Cheapmachines sounded interesting, but the clatter of drinks and background chat put paid to any intensity he may have been trying to put across and Beach Fuzz I missed altogether. Prurient is always good value for money and mildly entertaining. His singular angry young man dressed in black antics are pure theatre. I still remain unconvinced by the records though.

Kevin Drumm's reputation was sealed the moment he unleashed 'Sheer Hellish Miasma' way back in 2002. This recording has attained almost legendary status, its popularity confirmed by the recent re-issue. Sadly his brief (20 minute) live emission failed to measure up. In his defence the appalling sonics at Bardens and the fact that he might have had technical problems resulted in a deeply unsatisfying end to tonight's aggression.

A nice way to re-align with Soho after the Post-Xmas hibernation. Broadwick Street's Soul Jazz Records kick off 2008 with an effervescent release from Tayo. His previous original works didn't really seem to engage and his mixes always felt all over the place. But this is punchy, bass-weight digital dancehall workouts of the highest calibre. The vocal edges ahead in terms of likeability but the orchestra of bleeps redolent on the 'riddim' excude a certain charm. Style!

Clark: Throttle Promoter (Warp) - 12"

Nicely judged introductory 12" to the (excellent) 'Turning Dragon' long player. Clark's knack for tight melodies and crunchy rhythms are further refined resulting in some exemplary techno pop. Shades of Detroit optimism on opener 'See See' whilst 'Dirty Pixie' reminds me of labelmate LFO with its trashcan beats and bass-heavy pulses. The version of 'Gaskarth/CYRK Dedication' is far superior here than on the album. Reminiscent of Chain Reaction-era Monolake: hypnotically propulsive drum pattern and echo-chamber drone.

Nookie / Manix - The Sound Of Music / Hardcore Junglism (Remix) (Reinforced) - 12"

Dusted down and fighting-fit re-issues from Dollis Hill's Reinforced Records designed to appeal to the saddo retro raver in everyone over 30. Nookie is all nice and bouncy whilst Manix (aka 4Hero's Marc Clair) strains strings and tears amen's with a nugget of refined darkcore. There's voodoo and science at play here.

Chris Watson: Pacificus Oceanus (Touch) - 7"

Was only reminded I had this to review when I saw Chris pop up in Bill Oddie's weirdly entertaining 'Bill Oddie's Wild Side' on BBC2. Oceanic currents around the Galapagos Islands is the digitally sourced material on offer. As with all of Chris' previous works, it's the crisp clarity of the recording that really makes an impression, even from the thin 7" pressing. And as with all of Chris' previous works, it's required listening.

Freezie Freekie: Data Sink (Satamile) - 12"

Remiscent of electro tinged emissions from Detroit, I can hear elements of Model 500 deep inside this fantastic 2-tracker. First track does it clunk style, whilst the flip takes us out on a sea of bleeps. If you see it languishing in the electro section, pick it up....it deserves a home.