the olympos series paused briefly, but now makes a welcome return thanks to the efforts of hermes, the messenger of the gods. whether he produced the tracks himself or they were ghostwritten is unclear, but they re a fantastic addition to the greek mythology focused minimal electronica label. astraia is a twinkling delight of mournful deep techno, while eidolon heads into introspective minimal electro territory with some seriously crafty beat programming. stasis meanwhile strikes a warm, laid back note that harks back to early uk techno might the track title be a tribute? the record closes out on phone, a grainy, sullen jam with some crunchy broken beats and plenty of needlepoint sound design going on.

after an excellent first release featuring freerotation lynchpin steevio, russ gabriels rivers of groove label returns with a pair of excursions into lush, bubbling techno from gabriel on his own. as a first generation uk techno stalwart, its little wonder that he can turn out productions as accomplished as these, but there s no sense that he s treading water. ambulate bears the hallmarks of modular production, all twinkling, morphing synth tones chiming around a delicate beat, while dover calling favours a snappier electro palette, but both stand out from the crowd for the sheer quality in the production, the warmth in the composition and the needlepoint focus given to every shred of detail in this crucial cuts.

green village is a label operating out of jersey city that deals in all manner of sounds from rugged house to scuffed up techno, but with a distinct bent towards broken rhythms and plenty of bass. this various artists 12- plies a diverse trade, with all tracks bound together by their ruffness. theft & toyc bring some loud and lurid bass synths to their snaking slice of oddball club music -atlantic-, while bd1982 places focus on dense layers of choppy drums and needlepoint acid arpeggios. eighth ruin delivers a truly head turning beat with the appropriately named -whip-, and then etch pays tribute to a classic movie with the excellent breakbeat science of -predator-.

chicago dj and producer olin follows up the debut release on his new record label, boundary movement, with tpi featuring four diverse cuts. up-tempo electro, moody minimalism, old-school melodies, and chugging deep house all woven seamlessly. the a side begins with “tpi,” an exercise in minimalism and micro-detail. unmistakably olin’s own, insistent synth stabs keep time while needlepoint percussion keeps the ear guessing. if you thought olin’s palette was limited to techno and house, a2 “corsaren” will prove you wrong — this is pitch-perfect electro in a classic style, a slow-building interplay of sci-fi synthesizers wrapped around icy cool call-and-response kicks and handclaps. b1 “thanks rob” is bom02’s most straightforward cut — and one of its best. building momentum slowly across its eight-minute runtime, “thanks rob” impresses as the larger-than-life bass swell hits. the dancefloor will be rapt – proceed carefully. b2 “hyssop,” feeling like it comes from a similar vintage as “corsaren,” might have been called “ambient techno” decades ago, but its upwardly mobile percussion makes it feel as at home in a club as it does in the chill-out room. it’s just the thing to close out this broad-spectrum record. – chris zaldua