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Chrome-plated sound design and bristling textures frame the latest speculative sci-fi experiment from Xao, meshing sonic concepts inspired by Rabit, Visionist and Lotic into the cybernetic scapes of Hyph11E or Algorave proponent Renick Bell.

Xao has been working alongside the C.A.N.V.A.S. label since the beginning, and his second album builds on the promise of 2019's Astral Black-released "Eternal Care Unit", by burying some of his most recognisable inspirations into an algorithmic shimmer of vaporous sound design and cyborg percussion. The roots of ‘Wirehead’ can be traced to the mid 2010s obsession with shaping global club echoes and videogame FX into music that accurately scored our descent into digital dystopia, but Xao makes a clear link between those ideas and the brain-fried cyberpunk vistas of William Gibson. His guiding theme is the idea of the contemporary digital attention economy with its algorithmically-powered tidal wave of content, and the mental states that follows - employing procedural and algorithmic compositional methods to shatter this status quo, reaching in the direction of a proposed "digital spirituality" in the process.

On opening track 'Bone Theory', he burns fragments of death metal into warped airlock club stumbles, welding evocative, clanging sound design to tempered forms of weightless grime and gravel-throated trap. 'Aqua Tofana' is more fucked, sounding like a frosted-glass take on Autechre's latter day post-electro rhythms, or an algorithm-warped AI rendition of Lanark Artefax's 'Touch Absence', while 'Hyperfixate For Me' stutters barely-audible vocals beneath cracked Vladislav delayed percussion and the corrupted data throb of guitar noise and loopy synthesis.

The rest of the album plays like a Johnny Mnemonic-style braindump: the last few years of underground electronic music melted into a frayed patchwork of textures, rhythms and sonic signifiers. It comes to a head on 'I Wed My Shadow', when opera singer Marie Requa Gailey's voice just about cuts through the static like a candle in the dark, making the escape route from the techno dystopia just about visible. Moments later we're exposed to the corrosive 'Ophanim Plushie' - all jazz clatter and anodised rolls, accompanied by drones and squashed breaks that barely make it off the surface. By the time we reach the album's final track 'Threnody for the Child of Omelas', it’s all repair and recovery, twisting beatless echoes from strangled neural networks into blankets of aesthetic warmth.

Wirehead is a smart album that fits well into the deconstructed club/post-club lineage, deploying hyperkinetic sound design and a whelming flux of feelings echoing contemporary classics in its progressive field by TCF or Lee Gamble or indeed the same algo-powered artificiality as James Ferraro, or even the hyperpop set, fused with nu-metal and dembow somewhere between Arca and Oxhy.

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the bassbins, Mysticisms brings the latest in its Dubplate series. After the success of his first digital dubb excursions on the version, Persian returns with a second 10” of reggae inspired electronics, covering Bass, Breaks, Digidub and now also, Jungle. Taking no prisoners with the massive opener Survival Dub, Persian marries classic breakbeats and toasting to bouncing, dance floor effect. THE party starter. This is followed by Smoke Mari, a looping steppas of FX and breaks to lay down the Dubplate clash. As ever the link between rave, breaks and sound system culture is explored, this time with the Roots’n’Lovers opening of There Is No Love giving way to a Junglist drop, before risin’ to a beautiful soul sermon. Finally, taking it all down, tings wrap with the deep, sampledelic dub of Zatoichi’s Troubles. With a bass to destroy many a speaker, it’s lanquidity morphs from the EP’s hedonism of sound clash styles to a gliding “tokers delight”. Smoke the Mystery. "

Colombian artist Dfra links with some of Argentina's finest musicians for a high-class mix of 90s and 00s deep house and a wide array of proper jazz stylings to this new EP on Deeppa, a well-formed young label that will soon hit release number 10. 'Sal Marina' kicks off with shuffling beats and nu-jazz chords that make you want to move, while both 'Green Line' and 'Manits' showcase some superb melodies over more percussive, busy beats that have a great sense of movement. 'Brown Sugar' then gets a little deeper with its withering cosmic lines and heartfelt vocals and the main man Atjazz works ii onto something even more potent before 'Sal Marina Lay-Far remix)' closes down with a timeless soulful house vibe.

DNO welcomes two new signees, Slovenian producer Marka San and UK rapper Axel Holy, for one of the label’s darkest releases yet. The ‘Hidden Knowledge’ EP presents five tracks of dread bass and bad-trip sonics, as the Bristolian MC delivers cut-throat bars with the kind of calm, looming menace of a tomcat toying with its prey.

It was Dedw8, Axel’s horror-touched collab with Split Prophets’ Blanka, that first made him known in Slovenia, prompting Marka San to get in touch about working together. The same sinister vibe that drives that project has spread its tendrils right through the ‘Hidden Knowledge’ EP, from the twisted brass and squirming bass of ‘Where Did You Go’, which drags its feet like some zombified blues track as Axel repeats the titular phrase in his husky drawl, to the equally chilling ‘Classics’— all eerie samples and abyssal lows, with a pitched-down hook and braggadocious bars.

On ‘Patterns’, Axel goes to war, attacking the creeping beat with vicious battle bars and stories of the hustle, while ‘Hidden Knowledge’ sees him flex his vocabulary to take swipes at the powerful, and ‘Robert Downey’ makes his unswerving determination clear over grungy guitar.

Deliciously macabre, with intricate layers and lyrics that’ll have you spotting something new on every listen, yet still heavyweight enough for the dance, this is a match made in the nine circles and we can’t get enough of it.

Rhythms of postmodern realism at the very bottom of the DNO.

Bristol label Time Is Now welcome UK legend Jeremy Sylvester to the family, serving up a killer cut of bumping 4x4 UKG goodness!

Following EPs unearthed from by Dukwa and Marco Bailey & Redhead, Tdsr land back in their native Scotland with the debut release from young Edinburgh producer LWS. One half of the party duo Agora, he has been quietly honing his production skills wherever he can, seemingly even during university lectures. This is most evident in the title track ‘Metrixulus’, made entirely from a ten-minute iPhone recording from one of his economics lecture, flipping it fully on its head. Distorted synth howls are layered atop tight, clinical ercussion shaking in unison with a broken melody. The overall effect reveals a method to the madness though, nodding to deeper dancefloor moments through the emotive synth work, yet also showing a keen ear for the blistering digital drums of UK Funky and post-dubstep offshoots. The four tracks here show a young producer with a distinct sound, yet each remain markedly different to another. ‘Buy These’ on the A2 changes up the pace with a sharp, bouncy rhythm workout bringing in toms reminiscent of old Dance Mania jams, alongside some quality ambient pads. Side B delivers a driving EBM style lead blended with elements of dub techno, cavernous reverb filling the stereo field (C-Gard). Big extended breakdown in the midsection too! Arguably the most full-on cut is left till last, utilising the same knack for tight drums to underpin a truly wonky electro melody with what sounds like a detuned panpipe scale amongst various other FX.

The Technarchist returns to the label with a 2 track 7” of chunky dancefloor Weirdo Techno Funk, overflowing with humour and all the zaps, wobbles and basslines that we love !! These tracks return to the core sound that defined the label in its earlier years. For fans of Dance Mania, Luke’s Anger, Relief, Sativae and of course, Don’t. Some of you will know The Technarchist from his amazing track ‘Danse Macabre’ on the Don’t compilation album a few years back.

With a fundamental emphasis on the encouragement of genre hybridization, Evar Records, the Los Angeles-based imprint co-founded by Trickfinger (John Frusciante) and Aura T-09 (Marcia Pinna), continues its momentum with an expansive 9-track collection from Netherlands-based luminary, Limewax.

After making a strong first impression with its 2020 debut offerings, Evar Records has recruited Limewax to carry forward its mission of blurring boundaries and challenging conventions in electronic music. The Ukranian hard drum and bass hero happily obliged, referring to signing with Evar as a breaking point which allowed him, finally, to take full stock of his background in classical and electronic music simultaneously. Although Maxim Anokhin is widely known for his hard-edged breakbeats, releasing on labels such as Tech Itch Recordings, Position Chrome, Freak Recordings, and Prspct, the full scope of his artistry shines through on Untitled.

The opening cut, "Porcelaineworm," is a futuristic electro cut recalling IDM classics like AFX's "XMD5A." Of course, the virtuosic drum programming and hectic D&B sound which Limewax has built his reputation upon is here in spades on tracks like "Stay Lackey. Cuts like "Ushio" and "Whay1" are fascinating studies in contrasts—the former balances bludgeoning techno of the Ansome and Perc variety with a resolve that recalls Fennesz's pastoral glitch abstractions. "Whay1," meanwhile, is sub-rattling drum and bass nuanced by cinematic string themes. "Getupa" is an experimental beat track that truly bangs, its layers of texture and field recordings placing Limewax in the company of bleeding-edge acts like SVBKVLT's breakout star Hyph11E. The very next track, "19NB," is a subtle update to the original minimal technical template established by Detroit icons Robert Hood & Jeff Mills.

While most of the album hurtles forward at hard techno and D&B tempos, "Maleisae" is a sensual 70 BPM track mixing ghostly R&B and acid. That spectacular cut heralds Untitled's intricate denouement. The brief "Wernmqbram" effortlessly reconciles a baroque minor-key piano theme with the renegade snares of classic jungle. "Hasan" is a true "closing credits" master stroke, half-time acid giving way to gorgeous IDM-meets-Blade Runner synth leads.

Far from a genre-jumping hodgepodge, Untitled is a remarkably coherent full-length by a virtuosic artist free to explore the entirety of their creative influences. The Tilburg-based artist cites the poets Marina Tsvetaeva and David Whyte as influential on Untitled and also listened to works by 1771-1862 works by organ builders when crafting the album. The end result reveals Limewax as a masterful, diverse artist, capable of any style he pursues. It's a clear indicator of the boundless promise of Evar's core principle—a staunch refusal to put artists in boxes.