Various Artists
Rawbeats Extrasensorial Pt.2

It's fair to say Malta's Sound Synthesis is associated with spacey, acid-flecked electro. But here, on his first album for the UK-based Gated label, a deep vein of old-school influenced breaks comes to the fore.The infectious acid lines are ever-present - the hands-in-the-air breakdowns, the rolling basslines - but this is a different side to Keith Farrugia's prolific output that brings in influences from ambient to downtempo to bassbin-worrying bangers.Take opener Ambient Talk, which kicks into life with skittish drums, or the woozy vocal-led All Night, which makes sharp use of the Amen break, as does album highlight 90s Chords.Yes there are classic Sound Synthesis melodies throughout these nine tracks, but there's also a darker side, exemplified by the aptly-named 140BPMadness, which showcases Farrugia at his most ferocious.

As a full moon hovers over an empire of cratered landscapes lightyears away, galaxy explorer HVL signals descend to Earth with electronic cuts orbiting around turbulent electro and translunar techno. Four more stories from the great void.

Four new tracks by Sierra Romeo, the perhaps lesser known pseudonym of Stefan Robbers, focussing on ambient, downtempo and experimental electronica works. The legendary Dutch producer, known for his releases on Djax-Up-Beats, Planet E and his own Eevo Lute Muzique, revitalises the moniker to present four beautiful electronica pieces on the Delsin Eevo Lute series, that also remind of his beautiful Florence tracks.

Micron Audio embodies a hub for a modern and futuristic electro sound, led by its master DJ Stingray 313. The imprint beckons intense electronic sounds, roughened textures and geometries that speak to a guiding principle of making technological advancement accessible to the people. These technoid adventures of sci-fi sound design and arrays of unabating rhythm, draw its listeners through warped microworlds and wicked contortions. Behind the sounds, it exists as a display of artistic responsibility, making statements and providing solutions from socio-political commentaries.? The first Micron Audio physical release emerged in 2011, with DJ Stingray 313's Electronic Countermeasures EP, following a digital-only compilation that is no longer available. Tracks from the Micron Audio hemisphere have featured in several compilation records released by the likes of Rush Hour and Creme Organization, including Stringray's Urban Tribe project. It represents a crisply defiant and firmly electronic approach, drawing in the infective indicators of video games. Relaunching afresh in 2021, Micron Audio is working with new artists and is stepping not only further into the future but into the foreground, where its clear scientific intention and political attitude is entrenched through top-shelf sound design and pumping rhythms.

First friendship, then unconditional love for the music and dancefloor. These are the secrets between the new label OCV, collaborative project between London’s OPIA Records and Cuneo’s Club Vision. From the first party together, to the endless travelling together. We knew there was only one way to go. Welcome to OCV.