March: 8 electro releases you need to hear this month

Various 'Slow Porn present Prise De Vue 1' (My Favourite Robot)

Having recently chalked up 150 releases, Canadian imprint My Favourite Robot kicks off 2017 with a compilation from French duo Slow Porn (aka Phred Noir of La Dame Noir Records fame and Meant Records boss Remain). The pair’s first comp is dripping with pent-up tension as the worlds of disco, electro, rock, industrial and techno are slowly melted into one another like a Salvador Dalí painting. Standouts include the cyborgian croons of ‘Moon Invaders’ by Cabaret Nocturne, the barren electro-funk of CatCat’s ‘Poison’ and the tribal rhythms of Fairmont’s ‘DM’. The comp isn’t just lackadaisical synths stretched out over rubbery drums, though; there are fun-filled cuts, too, including the androgynous Italo of Rework’s ‘Close To The Beat’ and the elastic funk of Queen Charles’ ‘Sucking With’, both of which are worth the entry fee alone.

7/10

Mixhell & Joe Goddard feat Mutado Pintado 'Crocodile Boots' (Soulwax remix) (Delayed Records)

Last year, Mixhell’s Igor Cavalera unveiled a new side project alongside long-time friend Joe Goddard and Paranoid London frontmanMutado Pintado. Now they’re putting out a remixes package for their track ‘Crocodile Shoes’, including a killer rework from Soulwax (who have also recently shared news of their first track in 11 years). Here, they put their stamp on the original by festooning Pintado’s leathery, weathered vocals with sinuous melodies and pummelling basslines.

8/10

Bolis Pupul 'WÈI?/TEKNOW' (DEEWEE Records)

Everything Deewee Records has released in the last 18 months has been absolute fire – and 2017 is already shaping up to be even bigger for 2 Many DJs’ fledgling imprint. For its 20th release, the label welcomes Macau’s Bolis Pupul back to the family for two contrasting club weapons. The A-side, ‘WÈI?’, is a heady blend of bright and psychedelic synths that are wrapped around that trademark Deewee analogue gloopyness. Second track ‘TEKNOW’– as its title suggests – is the polar opposite: it’s a darker and more hard-edged cut, with the producer serving up a club weapon that even Hans Blix wouldn’t touch.

9/10

Alien Alien 'Secret Sabbah' EP (Meant Records)

French imprint Meant Records serves up a new EP from Rodion and Hugosan’s Alien Alien project. The EP’s opener, ‘Secret Sabbah’, establishes the tone with a somewhat monotonous groove and builds tension with eerie tones and lead-footed percussion. ‘Versailles’ is deeper – a lot deeper, in fact – as the duo deliver a dense cut built around cluttered top-lines and some pulsing atmospherics. The remixes increase the intensity a bit, with Russia’s Moralez and San Francisco pair JP Soul & Anthony Mansfield both delivering acidic, club-ready floor-fillers, leaving JD Twitch to provide the release’s sole techno offering.

6/10

Demian 'Milestars' EP (Kompakt)

Dèmian is considered a pioneer of the minimal electro sound that’s emanating out of Northern Spain at the moment, with releases on labels such Correspondant and Clouded Vision. So it’ll probably come as no surprise that Damien Pontonnier, the man behind the alias, has now landed himself a spot on esteemed imprint Kompakt with a three-track EP of kinetic electro that just oozes quality. All three tracks have a low-key aura about them, as Pontonnier delivers mellow electro that oscillates from the fuzzy propulsion of ‘Delica’ to the more rousing suspense of ‘Milestars’. The icing on the cake is ‘No Hype For The Fish’, a neon-clad cut of cyborg funk that shouldn’t work, but just does.

8/10

Gary Gritness 'The Sugar Cane Chronicles Vol 2' EP (Hypercolour)

Tipped as one to watch by ‘Mad’ Mike Banks, French multi-instrumentalist Gary Gritness (real name Slikk Tim) returns to Hypercolour for the second outing of his ‘Sugar Cane Chronicles’ series. Gritness’ style is, well, gritty, but also comes with a healthy dollop of funk, too: ‘Steady Choosin’ is an electro-funk tour de force of seductive melodies and Latino piano playing, while ‘Countin’ Up With Starr’ is a minimal cut of jazz-fuelled funk that’s just about as cool as the Fonz. ‘Runner Joe’s Revenge’ kicks up the tempo for a feisty cut that typifies Gritness’ love of cyberpunk soundtracks, before the excellent ‘Pool Shark Loot’ closes this impressive EP by combining electro with prickly P-Funk sleaziness.

9/10

Mila Dietrich 'Surenchère Paranoiaque' EP (Night Noise)

Amsterdam imprint Night Noise welcomes a new face to its roster in the form of Mila Dietrich. Hailing from Marseille, France, Dietrich has a penchant for the dark and grizzly, and her ‘Surenchère Paranoiaque’ EP has all the hallmarks of a future star in the making. ‘Conversation Nocturne’ is moody and foreboding as twinkling top-lines sit in stark contrast to a hooky bassline and grizzly pad work. ‘Surenchère Paranoiaque’ pretty much shares the same bassline, but has also been given a acid makeover with squelchy melodies and languid percussion, and there are also excellent remixes from Pilo and Horreur.

8/10

Shaded & Harvard Bass 'Time Wasting' EP (Twin Turbo)

Turbo Recordings’ sub-label Twin Turbo welcomes Californian noisemakers Shaded and Harvard Bass for a new acid-tinged EP that features two original cuts and a couple of killer remixes from Cassy and Kenny Glasgow. The duo waste no time in making a statement with opening track ‘Time Wasting’, an oscillating cut of acid-flecked electro that features rapper Rossirock. ‘Mental Face’ is more low-key but no less devastating, combining deadpan vocals with micro-percussion for a more subdued cut. For the remixes, meanwhile, Cassy delivers a low-slung, slow-mo techno stomper that’s the perfect weapon of choice for anyone navigating a graveyard shift, while Kenny Glasgow delivers the kind of leftfield remix that only he could; think esoteric atmospherics and muffled percussion wrapped around Rossirock’s verses.

7/10