Howes - 7/10

There is an admirable micro-trend of producers returning from software to modular synths. One such is 22-year-old Mancunian John Howes, whose debut album exemplifies the rewards of exploring such kit.

He once dabbled in dancefloor-aimed material, but '3.5 Degrees' veers into gloopier, mistier territory. The 4/4 beat is there, but slowed down and faded out, so tunes such as the Pole-ish 'Source 000535' have a ghostly abstract power. Howes is unafraid of clanking machine music – 'Green Lense' contains hissing factory rhythms – or letting drone-like repetition work on the listener's brain, as on 'OYC'.

He's hijacked techno, destroyed its propulsion, and created something intriguingly spaced out.