February: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Essaie Pas 'New Path' (DFA)

Married Montreal duo Marie Davidson and Pierre Guerineau’s last album, ‘Demain Est Une Autre Nuit’, saw them signed to DFA. While that was a classy retro synth-pop affair, their fifth finds them going deeper: they offer a dubby and hypnotic techno groove on tracks such as ‘Las Aphides’ and ‘Future Parlé’, but also experiment with sterner electro flavours on ‘Complet Brouillé’ and the psy-trance sounds of ‘Substance M’. The album is loosely conceptualised round sci-fi master Philp K Dick’s novel A Scanner Darkly, and indeed, there are hints of his twitchy, futurist paranoia to be found here. Essaie pas is French for “don’t try”, but Davidson and Guerineau don’t heed that advice: they try a new direction, and succeed. Thomas H Green

7/10

I-Robots 'Reconstructions 2007-2017 10th Year Anniversary Chapter 1 & II' (Opilec)

I-Robots is no Isaac Asimov electronic tribute act, although the name may well have been inspired by the sci-fi pioneer. I-Robots is actually Italian producer called Gianluca Pandullo, who makes suitably cosmic house and techno and here collates 10 years of productions with exclusive remixes of Derrick May (‘Emanon’), Giorgio Moroder (a sprightly update of ‘Utopia’) and a cowbell-infused disco take on Yello’s ‘You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess’. Split into two parts (with 45 tracks in total), ‘Chapter’ I explores old-school sounds, while ‘Chapter II’ focuses on the 90s and closes with a sleek, super-deep house take on Virgo Four’s ‘Dirty Talk’. Ralph Moore

7/10

Various '4 To The Floor presents Faya Combo' (4 To The Floor)

‘4 To The Floor presents Faya Combo’ is part of the 4 To The Floor vinyl and download series, compiled by Classic Records’ Luke Solomon. The 25 tracks here include timeless sun-kissed house cuts such as DJ Gregory’s ‘Elle’ and, of course, the never-fresher ‘Tropical Soundclash’, which had a very clear influence on next-gen producers such as Melé. Remixes from the likes of Tiger Stripes, Kerri Chandler, Kenny Dope are included, too, as are all of those classic Gregory Afro-house originals: overall, it’s a package which reminds you that at one particular point, an orange sleeve and black font was a trusted mark of quality house. Ralph Moore

8/10

Charlotte Gainsbourg 'Rest' (Because Music)

Charlotte Gainsbourg is an artist whose folk-tronic leanings occasionally collide with club culture and create accidental club hits. Last month, for example, the stellar Soulwax remix of ‘Deadly Valentine’ was our top pick in Big Tunes. What’s exciting for readers of a certain standing is that Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo has produced the title track, the nicely bubbling and none-more-Gallic/French Touch ‘Rest’, which finds her whispering over a melody that’s pure ‘Discovery’. It’s worth the price of entrance for that track alone, but Ed Banger’s SebastiAn does a stellar job producing an LP that tackles themes such as childhood fears, marriage and addiction, inspired by her personal journals. Ralph Moore

8/10

Jonny L 'Sawtooth' (XL)

Amid a swirl of 20-year reissues and label jamborees, XL cuts through the noise with an absolute masterstroke. Restoring Jon Lisners’ underground 1997 d’n’b classic is not only a fitting acknowledgement of the LP’s role in the genesis of the tech-step sound, but the rebirth of a thrillingly relevant suite of sci-fi tech arias. If Roni Size’s ‘New Forms’ saw a tentative embrace from the mainstream, ‘Sawtooth’ took d’n’b back down the rabbit hole: it’s icy, minimalist, technical and atmospheric. The seminal twisted drone ‘Piper’ is just the beginning, as cool soul on ‘I Let U’, ambient bliss on ‘Tychonic Cycle’ and various other production experiments combine to create a dark-light d’n’b prototype that captures the essence of the genre’s appeal today. Ewen Cook

9/10