Index Marcel Fengler Vinyl, CD & Tape 8 Items

Marcel Fenglers IMF label kicks off 2025 by unifying different generations on The Past Voices EP. It arrives on 7th February and features much-anticipated debut tracks from Tarkno alongside fellow new school talent The Sixth Sense who also goes solo on the flip while veteran Stigmata remixes.

Germany-based, Australia-born Tarkno is as authentic as techno gets. His vinyl-only sets across several turntables have lit up the worlds best clubs while his production journey begins here and shows his sounds are pure, machine-driven and forward-facing. Here he works with The Sixth Sense who is at the heart of the Berlin techno scene with his seamless blends of nostalgia and futurism coming on this label as well as Abstraction and his own Akashic Records.

First up the pair offer the muscular bounce of Past Voices with rattling percussive grooves, dusty drums and tunnelling synths that drive on with inescapable force.

Watch Out is another expert blend of funky loops, ticking hi-hats and trippy synth details and the banging Outsider is a thrilling and physical sound with expert filters teasing out tension.

Remixer Andre Walter aka Stigmata has helped to define the techno underground since the 90s with several different projects on serious labels like Modular Source and Mutual Rytm.

Here he flips Outsider into a dense techno blizzard with pulsing synths and hammering kicks topped with urgent sirens. Finally, The Sixth Sense then goes it alone on the unrelenting drum funk of MK-Ultra while the final cut Plato is a wall of textured loop techno that will leave any floor locked-in and marching on.

The Past Voices EP is a timeless testament to the power of pure, unadulterated techno brilliance.

Marcel Fengler's IMF begins 2022 with Imf011, the beginning of a new era of the label's outlook, which will combine a focus on new talent, established remixers and a design overhaul.

Belgian artist Milo Spykers is first out of the traps for 2022, with his "Hier & Nu" EP (complete with a remix from Fengler) delivering a four-track punch of modern techno. Spyker's use of dense synths across the EP imbue his tracks with a memorable character that leaps out of the speakers.

From the jagged and oppressive leads of "Hier & Nu" to the outright anthemic riffs of "The Helicity" via the cascading stabs of "Happex", the "Hier & Nu" EP is a boisterous work of controlled chaos. Fengler's remix of "Hier Nu" extracts Spyker's synths, and with clinical precision, reconstructs them around a lean, muscular rhythm track that oozes tension.

"Milo's a very talented young producer. He's got an uncomrpimising taste in techno and that convinced me that he's both a DJ and producer I want to support. I'm really happy to welcome him to the IMF Family." (Marcel Fengler, Jan 2022)

Emerging Belgian DJ/producer Steya shares her debut EP on IMF, becoming just the ninth artist to release a full body of work on Marcel Fengler's influential label. The Berlin-based artist has stamped herself as one to watch since breaking through in 2022, a regular at RSO Berlin and Grelle Forelle in Vienna, she's also played Tomorrowland, Exhale, Rex Club andBasement in NYC. Her first forays into production reinforced her quality, with 'Neon Reecho' featuring on RAW's Third Eye compilation in 2021, followed by the release of 'Elysian' on BCCO's second V/A as well as the excellent 'Prototype X' on the '10 Years of Imf' that dropped in 2022, followed by a standout contribution to the label's new Hardproof V/A series in 2023 with 'Trigger Me'. Her debut EP crystalises 20 years of devotion to techno, presenting abroad palette of sonic influences formed since her early days as araver in Antwerp. At the same time, it continues the label's philosophy of pairing a next generation artist with one of the greats of the genre, with Steya's hero Rolando featuring on her 'Dopamine EP' with a remix of the incandescent 'Things You Never Said'. Growing up in Belgium where the 'Knights of the Jaguar' was a staple childhood anthem, it was "one of her biggest wishes to have him as a remixer". An EP borne through two years of dedicated studio time, 'Dopamine EP' kicks off with the electric title track, a gritty tribal outing marked by dynamic shifts in tempo throughout. 'Fast Life' is a slick bass-led cut with plenty of bottom-end kick before a punchy synth melody get sadded to the brew. Swedish producer Hertz - a favourite of Steya's ("I've played one of his tracks in every set since the beginning of my career") joins the project to re-work the title track, upping the energy ofthe original. 'Things You Never Said' begins life centred around energetic rolling grooves, before warm synth rushes give it a distinct Motor City vibe. Rolando fittingly steps up for remix duties to close out the EP, delivering a masterclass in deep simmering techno, extending the original by two minutes. "It's a big honour to release my debut EP on such an amazing label like IMF, which is very close to my heart. I poured my heart and soul into this project. It showcases the artistic direction I've developed overthe last few years and is an important milestone in my artist journey." - Steya "After experiencing many of her stunning DJ sets, it's wonderful to seeher thriving also as a producer. What really excites me is witnessing her continuous growth, always fuelled by her deep passion for music. So, I'm thrilled to release Steya's debut EP on IMF, featuring three original dancefloor anthems and two stellar remixes by Rolando and Hertz." - Marcel Fengler

Thirteen EPs and several VA's make up the story of Marcel Fengler's IMF label, and the music continues to go from strength to strength. The latest addition to the release catalogue may be one of the strongest to date, featuring a generous number of individual inputs inside a six-track EP. Delivering the goods this time, Stuttgart-based Rove Ranger serves up two sublime stompers, with enigmatic London local The Advent serving up a thumping remix for the first half of this split release. Madrid's Rodiaz supplies another duo of weighty originals on the second side, backed up by legendary Scottish techno titans Slam. Rove Ranger's 'Workout' opens proceedings energetically, revolving around a rolling acid bassline, swirling tonal percussion, offbeat licks, catchy vocal chops and crisp, driven hat grooves to churn out an impressive opening track before The Advent puts his own deeper, darker spin on it, pulling the original track around through a series of envelopes and creative modulations, giving it an entirely different persona. Rove Ranger closes off his side of the release with the breakbeat-laced sounds of 'Unforgotten', implementing endless audio width alongside pensive chords, thumping industrial grooves and hollowed-out sub-bass. Rodiaz kicks the second half of the EP off with a bang, coming in brutal and fast on 'Space Methods' through an array of thudding drum grooves and rattling percussive toppers to for man unconventionally gripping beat structure - subtly accented with minimal melodic components to add endless character to this peak-time bomb. Slam follows up with an archetypally hard-hitting rendition, firing off a relentless assault of weighty kicks, rattling hat grooves and coarse industrial fills, leaving very little room for a breather throughout this tirade of hair-raising tenacity before Rodiaz distils the EP into a close with the groove-focused 'Output Methods', playing on detuned tonal elements alongside tribal-infused percussion and eerie pads from start to finish.