May: 8 electro releases you need to hear this month

Radioactive Man 'Luxury Sky Garden' (Asking For Trouble)

For his fifth studio album, Radioactive Man (aka Keith Tenniswood) has raided his legendary live sets for inspiration. He’s also taken the unusual approach of mastering and cutting the entire record himself. ‘Luxury Sky Garden’ is pure, unadulterated Radioactive Man. There’s no flab or self-indulgence; just raw-sounding electro distilled through a dizzying range of influences. There’s jazz spliced with big-beat theatrics for ‘Steve Chops’, two-step wrapped around space-age electronica on ‘Deep Space Habitat’ and tough-as-old-boots breaks masquerading as electro on ‘Bonnet Bee’. The LP’s final third finds Tenniswood at his most daring: ‘Sonic Portal’ is all frenzied melodies and drums, ‘Jommtones’ feeds jungle motifs fed through a prism of electro and ‘Serving Suggestion’ adds Kraftwerk-like synths to crooked hooks for a show-stopping finish.

8/10

Blende feat Mattie Safer 'Back To Summertime' (Eskimo Records)

Summer is just around the corner, and Blende is set to soundtrack it. The electro-funk phenomenon teams up with Mattie Safer for a new cut that falls between day-glo disco and funk-fuelled electro. Blende layers saccharine hooks over thumping kicks and Safer’s pop-leaning vocals. Cavego’s remix adds propulsive disco vibes to an already heady cocktail, while the smoky pads of TSM (This Soft Machine’s) rework make for a more downbeat interpretation.

8/10

Cardopusher 'Nothing Left To Believe In' (Zone Records)

Having wowed us with their last release from Aussie lot Mikron, Zone Records welcomes Cardopusher to the family for a five-track affair of imposing electro. The EP’s opener, ‘Nothing Left To Believe In’, is electro at its most primordial. It’s raw and raucous as Cardopusher blends fractured vocals with wild synth work for a cut that sounds like it was smelted in an industrial furnace.

‘Black Cut’ is more dynamic, with an electro groove setting the pace before it’s blitzed with stabbing synth work. ‘Regulator’, in contrast, is heavier, its industrial bleakness emanating from a thick smog of steely drum work and distant vocals. ‘Trouble With Thinking Too Much Acid’ is (as you might have guessed) a wild 303 jam that sounds like a slowly dying soundcard. And finally, ‘War Dance’ is another brilliantly purposeful cut with in-your-face hits and slithering synths.

7/10

Lemmy Ashton 'Lunaire' EP (Take No Credit)

Bugged Out’s long-standing resident Lemmy Ashton delivers three contrasting cuts for the second release on his newly minted label Take No Credit. All three tracks take inspiration from a variety of influences: ‘Amsterdam’ falls somewhere between electro and indie-folk (but not in a bad way); ‘Lunaire’ takes its cues from Madchester’s storied acid house explosion, as Ashton weaves 303s lines over crackling claps; and finally, ‘Silver Suitcase’ is nine minutes of self-indulgent fidgety French house to round off an impressive EP from the ever-improving Lemmy.

7/10

My Favourite Robot 'Want Some' EP (My Favourite Robot Records)

After a stellar string of releases from its roster this year, My Favourite Robot make a long overdue return to their own label with three fresh cuts of fuzzy electro. ‘Want Some’ is a cosmic journey through twinkling melodies and doughy synth stabs before you’re met with an ethereal vocal that gives the track an added dimension. ‘Think Anymore’, on the other hand, is a darker and more purposeful cut, with a constellation of melodies orbiting around its celestial groove. A re-edit of the same track then closes out the EP with a more playful feel, thanks to boinging basslines and gurgling synth drones. Once again, this is another strong, well-crafted offering from the My Favourite Robot camp.

7/10

Danced Til Midnight 'She Can’t Love You' (Egyptian Lover remix) (Thylacine Sounds)

Danced Til Midnight’s Andy Anderson serves up a delectable slice of swinging electro disco, with a little help from London-based singer Iljeoma. The original features an r’n’b vocal that’s catchy like velcro, which Anderson transforms by pummeling it with stodgy percussion and twangin’ guitars. But it’s actually Egyptian Lover who delivers the real heat with his remix: he provides a cut of copper-bottomed electro flavoured with dashes of hip hop and urban pop.

8/10

Code Walk 'Bruda' EP (12 Records)

Copenhagen duo Code Walk present their debut EP ‘Bruda’ via their own F12 Records. The EP’s opener, ‘Doubler’, is a barren number as the drum machine lays the groundwork for cyborgian sirens and swelling pad work to take centre stage. ‘Guess What’ is more heavy footed, but has the added excitement of androgynous vocals from Smerz, as well as some FX wizardry layed over rubbery bass drums. ‘Rob’ is at the other end of the tempo spectrum, as Code Walk fashions a 140bpm banger that falls somewhere between Autechre-style electro and techno-infused gabber. And to finish, the acrid title track is brimming with barbed hooks, spangled synth work and tight drums.

7/10

Pale Blue 'Comes Home/Have You Walked Through This Night' (Me Me Me)

Pale Blue is the new alias for Mike Simonetti and Elizabeth Wight, and their first release has found a home on Maw Power’s ever-impressive Me Me Me imprint. ‘Have You Passed Through This Night’ is raw and daring, with Wight’s airy vocals reminiscent of early electro pioneer Miss Kitten; electro is often about bangers, but Pale Blue prove that emotion is just as intoxicating as raw energy with their serenading of each other. ‘Comes Home’ flips between a swirling dream state (buoyed by Wight’s mesmerising vocals) and propulsive electronica thanks to Simonetti’s choice of cascading synths and string arrangements. To finish, Spanish don Pional delivers a remix of ‘Come Home’ that captures the original’s lucid timbre while adding his own acidic twist, with Wight’s vocals pulsing in the background like a distant lighthouse.

9/10

Andrew Rafter is Mixmag's Electro Editor, follow him on Twitter