Tiefschwarz - 7/10

These days all electronic roads seem to lead to Germany. Back in 1997, when Ali & Basti Schwarz first appeared on the scene, that wasn't yet the case; in fact Tiefschwarz were in the vanguard of the new breed. They built a reputation for scintillating deep house remixes, but after a period dabbling in minimal they've been heading somewhere darker of late. 'Left' is heavy on vocals, chiefly provided by Berlin artist Khan. It gives the record a more rounded appeal – it works best on the twisted fairground tango of 'Do Me' – but hardened clubbers are likely to veer to the lights-out, witching-hour techno of 'Dings' and the atmospheric, stripped-down 'Laid Black'.