Lakker - 8/10

Following on from two notably strong EPs last year, Dara Smith and Ian McDonnell return to R&S for their first long-player together. The Dublin-hailing, Berlin-based pair have both been producing behind the scenes for over a decade, with most of their respective involvements being in experimental techno circles. The 10 productions that form their debut remain in this area, while incorporating field recordings from motorway tunnels in Japan, church bells from Schöneberg, an Irish female choir and Inuit throat singers. The operatic IDM of the previously released 'Mountain Divide' is hard not to view as the pick, but even so, 'Tundra' still has all the sonic intensity of an R&S classic.