April: 8 electro releases you need to hear this month

The Emperor Machine 'Voltage Controled' (Vertical Tones)

Sci-fi buff and analogue fanatic Andy Meecham (aka The Emperor Machine) delivers the first release from his newly minted Vertical Tones imprint with a four-track EP of mind-bending electro. It kicks off in suitably mechanical fashion, as Meecham pairs undulating stabs against stodgy kicks for ‘We Play Perfect’ before bringing all the disparate melodies together for a show-stopping finish. ‘Dry Down The Middle’ takes Meecham’s experimentalism even further down the rabbit hole, stitching together sawtooth hooks with a bassline that morphs more times than a Power Ranger. ‘Got To Warm Ride’, on the other hand, is a different beast entirely, with meaty kicks layered over cosmic-sounding pad work before finishing with a cacophony of space-aged melodies. Final track ‘Leggwork’is arguably the pick of the bunch, as Meecham combines electro and disco on a cut that’s just crying out to be pranced around to.

9/10