Fresh Picks: Week 20
Week 20 brings a varied but focused selection. A debut label built on instinct, a split record between two Berlin veterans, a 30th anniversary appearance from a label cornerstone, and a few releases that simply do what good techno should, move you without overexplaining itself. 8 records worth your time.
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- ANNĒ - Metallic Tapes [BLND001]
ANNE launches her new imprint Blind Harmonies with a debut EP that's worth your time. Four tracks, each with their own character. Daydream sets a melancholic, driving tone. Castles in the Air brings Detroit-influenced synth soul and keeps things moving. On the B-side, Metallic Tapes locks into a hypnotic percussive groove, and In the Blink of an Eye closes it out with powerful drums and a sharp lead.
- DHÆÜR — Moving Pressure 06 [MP06]
DHAEUR lands on Moving Pressure with a debut that makes sense. Four tracks built on tight rhythms, swollen basslines, and just enough restraint to let the groove breathe. The A-side is direct and playful, the B-side goes darker with eerier atmospheres, but still locked to the floor. Coherent from start to finish.
- Disguised — Nightrun [MR045]
Four tracks that cover a lot of ground without losing focus. Where Thoughts End hits hard from the start. Nightrun is glitchier, more fractured. Crusher Wheels is the 4am track, deep and trance-inducing. Ashes and Algorithms closes it out with eerie melodic detail over bulky drums.
- Function x Nastia Reigel — Devocion EP
Function and Nastia Reigel share a deep interest in early 90s trance, rooted in labels like R&S and FAX. That common ground led to Devocion, out on Dekmantel. Four tracks that pull from that era without sounding like a reissue. Plaintive bleeps, melancholic arpeggios, acid lines, gated pads. All the familiar markers, handled with enough restraint to feel current. Emotional but never soft.
- Oliver Ho — Our Secret Religion [BP087]
Blueprint turns 30 and Oliver Ho is back. He helped shape the label's early sound, returned for the 20th anniversary with Burning Heretics, and now shows up again with Our Secret Religion. Straight forward techno from the techno veteran.
- Kr!z — Inferno [TOKEN140]
Kr!z is back for his sixth release on the label with Inferno. Four tracks that strip things down to what matters. No excess, no fuss. Just simple ideas executed with full conviction. The club experience at its most unforgiving, and he knows exactly how to translate that.
- Dynamic Forces — Energy Education [ARTSCSORE027]
Dynamic Forces delivers six solid tracks on ARTS. From the controlled momentum of Lyra to the raw synth pressure of Vaulting, the dubby Parallel and carefully tuned Shimmer — each track has its own character. Radiant and Meraki close it out with peak-time energy. Varied and straight to the point.
- Regent vs Chontane — Versus 001 [MRV001]
Two Berliners with over 15 years in the scene split a record down the middle. Regent keeps it dancefloor-focused and direct — tight, tense, and purposeful. Chontane goes deeper and more unconventional, pulling in funk, IDM and jungle without losing the floor. Two approaches, one coherent record.
