December: 8 electro releases you need to hear this month

Andrew Claristidge 'Danser Ou Mourir, Relecture' (Mille Feuilles)

We’ve been big fans of Andrew Claristidge and his many guises (Acid Washed, Los Massieras and Sex In Dallas) for a while, now – and if this new release is anything to go by, we’re not the only ones. Parisian imprint Mille Feuilles (which is run by noisemaker Molécule) has enlisted the great and good of French electro music for this remix album of Claristidge’s 2015 solo effort ‘Danser Ou Mourir’. When we say great and good, we really do mean it: you’ve got the likes of The Hacker, Cosmo Vitelli, Molécule and many more all present here, with each providing fresh takes on the album’s tracks. Standouts are plentiful, as The Hacker flips ‘Delorean Dream’s’ into a caustic cut of demonic electro, while Beaumanoir delivers an equally unnerving remix that’s just about the darkest track we’ve heard this year. Moving on, Cosmo Vitelli serves up his usual blend of twisted and bone-shaking electro disco, but while the majority of the tracks here hit like a howitzer, there are some moments of melancholia to be found, too, including Automat’s icy cool and acid-flecked remix of ‘Silver Horse Part 1’.

9/10

Sandboards 'Visa' (Shinra remix) (Feel My Bicep)

London-based producer Shinra has been building quite a reputation for Rephlex-resonating electro jams. His latest release is a neon-hued remix of Sandboards’ ‘Visa’. While the original is a delectable cut of analogue-infused acid that’s been doing the business for the Bicep boys, Shinra chooses to repurpose the track’s hook for a cut of synthwave-inspired electro. It’s stuffed full of venomous synth work, clever stuttering percussion lines and futuristic soundscapes for a proper throwback electro track.

9/10

SCNTST 'Thru Infinity' (Boysnoize Records)

SCNTST, real name Bryan Müller, has been a mainstay in the Boysnoize Records camp since 2011, when he dropped his heavy-hitting ‘Monday’ EP. Since then he’s released a slew of follow-ups and two albums, 2013’s ‘Self Therapy’ and 2015’s ‘Puffer’. Back with a new single, ‘Thru Infinity’, it’s clear Müller’s sound has matured as his latest is neither banging nor subdued; instead, it occupies the ground between electro and ambient (if such a place exists). Almost everything about it is low-key: the percussion work flutters and is hidden in the background, while at the forefront there’s a shape-shifting hook that’s backed by distant kicks.

8/10

Future Sound Of Antwerp 'DEEWEE018' (DEEWEE Records)

In 12 months and with 18 releases, Stephen and David Dewaele’s DEEWEE Records has uncovered a raft of compelling new talent. This month they’ve got the debut release from Future Sound Of Antwerp, and it’s sounding big. The release falls somewhere between woozy disco and mechanical-sounding electro. The real electro meat, though, comes in the form of ‘Tom Cruise Scientologist’, which is firmly anchored in the world of Belgium’s storied New Beat scene. Right from the opening bars you know you’re dealing with something particularly menacing, as barbed synths rub shoulders with pensive tones and stomping kicks. The EP signs off with ‘Volium’, as a noodling acid synth line sets the groundwork before the track’s gloopy groove reveals itself and then effortlessly segues into a mesmerising, Italo-fuelled breakdown.

9/10

Tiga 'Planet E' (Danny Daze remix) (Turbo Recordings)

Tiga’s latest LP ‘No Fantasy Required’ is still producing the goods 12 months on since its initial release. This month, Tiga’s Turbo Recordings unleashes the next batch of remixes, including this stunning rework from man of the moment Danny Daze. With productions finding their home on a variety of imprints including Kompakt, Ellum and Hot Creations, the versatile Miami producer delivers another humdinger of a remix. His version is built around an all-consuming arpeggiated synth line festooned with thwacking percussion. Throw in some of the original’s vocals, which are expertly chopped and rearranged, and Daze succeeds in making ‘Planet E’ his own.

8/10

Remain 'Travel Series 1.1' (Meant Records)

French producer Remain delivers two slabs of thickly-set French electro on his own imprint, Meant Records, alongside Brazilian mainstay Click Box. ‘02’ is your archetypal French banger: stripped back to the point of minimalism, it’s just yearning to destroy dancefloors the world over. Its constituent parts – the hooky riffs, the fizzing percussion lines and stodgy kicks – are so well put together they’re worth the entry fee alone. But when they’re all combined, you’ve got a throbbing club weapon that should come with a health warning. For B-side ‘04’, Remain and Click Box channel their inner weirdos, as discombobulating vocals collide with sleazy synth lines and crisp drum lines. Swayzak also turns in a remix of ‘02’, before Danton Eeprom’s jangling re-rub of the B-side completes this stunning release.

8/10

Reinhard Voigt 'Kontraste' (Kompakt Records)

Germany’s Kompakt Records has become a byword for consistency in the electronic music world. This month, the ever-dependable imprint welcomes back one of its most trusted producers, Reinhard Voigt. Having been with the label since the early 90s, anything he releases is usually a true reflection of its original ethos, and ‘Kontraste’ provides two cuts of bleeding-edge electro. ‘The Singing Saw’ is all fizzing synths and oscillating melodies as the producer delves deep into his subconscious, while B-side ‘Trust’ finds him going deeper and darker for some truly murky, dystopian electro that twists and turns in all the right places.

8/10

Black Merlin 'Control' (BoysNoize Records)

Having made quite an impression on us this year with his ambient album inspired by found sounds he recorded in Indonesia and its surrounding islands, Black Merlin debuts on Boysnoize Records. ‘Control’ buzzes with metallic synths and robotic vocals, before ‘Secondo’ dials the intensity down a touch for a forward-thinking cut of looped-up electro. The EP then descends even further into warehouse territory with the pounding techno of ‘Blindfold’, but he leaves the best for last with the brutally unnerving soundscapes of ‘Sequencer’.

8/10