Various - Elemental Chill Vol. 1: Fire

Kriztal Entertainment: 2002

I feel fortunate I haven’t covered a lengthy DJ Mix/compilation series yet. It grows tiresome finding fresh things to talk about when there isn’t much difference from CD to CD, the most popular ones typically sticking to successful formulas (note: DJ-Kicks is an exception because, hot damn, is it ever all over the place!). Imagine if I’d kept all those euro dance discs from the 90s: Dance Mix, Club Cutz, DJ Line… we might still be stuck in the ‘D’s. Fortunately, most of those found new homes in used shops or met their demise in microwaves (always a fun party trick).

There are a few series I’ve collected many, if not all, editions of, this here Elemental Chill being one such. I actually hadn’t planned on it, figuring to buy just one when I saw them sitting in a CD Universe mall outlet but unsure which one to go for. The shop gal suggested getting them all, as she’d then give me a bulk discount on the package (like HMV’s old ‘buy ten, get one free’ deal). Sure, why not, these look decent enough that I can splurge on the whole set.

All four editions of Elemental Chill were released at the same time, which isn’t a bad idea when you’re launching a label as Kriztal was here. Chill music was quite popular at the turn of the century, so there were plenty of established labels already cornering the market, but these had enough of a gimmick to grab attention - jazzy, Latin-flavored, downtempo tunes, each CD centered on an elemental theme.

First in the series is Fire. As far as I can tell, this means jazzy, Latin-flavored, downtempo tunes that tend to urge a bit of hip shaking action. Not that chill, come to think of it, but whatever; a series needs some diversity throughout. Examples: Mikael Delta brings a little deep Balearic house vibe with Diving; something that could loosely be described as ‘salsa d’n’b’ comes care of Brazilian trio DJ Marky, DJ Patife & ESOM; Herbaliser does his smokey acid jazz thing in a remix of Jaffa’s Elevator.

So some nice tunes all around, but there’s a glaring problem here, and it’s unfortunately one throughout the series: they’re presented as DJ mixes that are horribly wonky. DJ DRM (Aaron Schultz) was given the duty, and whether he was forced into using tracks that simply didn’t work together or didn’t have the time to make the mixes better, I don’t know. Occasionally a string of tunes hint at proper set momentum, but most transitions are abrupt, styles clashing as flow is flung out the window over and over. If you can’t get all your selected tunes to mix smoothy, don’t bloody force it. How can I expect to get my chill on if I’m constantly turning heads and raising eyebrows over the DJing? Oh well, maybe it was just a flub in the first inning. Will it get better in later editions? (spoiler: eh…)

N-Trance - Electronic Pleasure

Popular Records: 1996

Depending on who you ask, UK-based N-Trance was one of three different acts: old school rave (and later happy hardcore) darlings responsible for the classic Set You Free; a better-than-average euro dance act responsible for tunes like Electronic Pleasure and Turn Up The Power; dance pop cheese mongers responsible for cover-bilge like Stayin’ Alive and Paradise City. Everyone’s right, and amusingly this debut album of theirs features all three personas.

Set You Free was produced back in ’92, but due to confounding legal problems, never saw a proper release until much later. White labels of that original version made the rounds, however, so the group had no choice but to include the popular cut (or something quite similar) when they finally released their album. Its ravey roots are bold and bright, frantic breakbeats and punchy riffs perfectly accentuating Kelly Llorenna’s soaring vocals. One can’t help but wonder what other N-Trance tunes would have sounded like if they had managed a quick album follow-up that same year. The closer That’s All We Need offers a small hint, sounding like a UK acid house/gospel hybrid you’d find quite a bit of in the early ‘90s.

But no, it wasn’t until ’95 Electronic Pleasure finally hit the streets, and Set You Free couldn’t help but come off sounding a tad dated by then. N-Trance had kept busy in the meanwhile though, latching onto popular euro trends and knocking it out of the park with their titular cut. Owing some influence to the Abfahrt Records sound, it’s got your catchy hook, strong vocals, requisite rap, and enough subtle production tying it to the trance scene (not to mention one of those memorably daft euro dance videos) to lift it well above the sea of dance pop wanna-bes that was flooding the market at the time. Most of the other tunes here follow this pattern, with follow-up single Turn Up The Power added later. It’s a fine slice of euro as well, but coming off more like a B-Side to Electronic Pleasure.

All well and good, but these songs were hardly the reason most folks snagged copies of N-Trance’s debut off the shelves. No, that distinction goes to Stayin’ Alive. God, was that song fucking annoying…

Finding success in dance covers wasn’t anything new, but the time was right for disco-retro romanticism to set in. N-Trance capitalized in a big way, retaining nearly all of The Bee Gee song’s best attributes, adding an updated chunkier beat, and, of course, a rap. Good job, All Around The World, in clearing those rights. I can’t deny still finding my strut while listening to this, but that’s all The Bee Gees work there.

Stayin’ Alive’s the only example of such music on Electronic Pleasure, but N-Trance saw the dollar signs it brought in and modeled the rest of their career around cheap disco-dance and crap covers. It’s about all most remember them for now, which is a shame because their earlier work in euro dance is class.

Various - DJ-Kicks: Scuba

Studio !K7: 2011

Okay, I'll admit it: I barely paid attention to current electronic artists throughout 2011. Sure, I kept an eye on musical trends and the like, but as for following recommendation lists of what I “should” be listening to, I couldn't be bothered. Having been burned once too often by another minimal-wank/k-hole-house/wayward-dubstep production on such lists, you can forgive me for being wary. This Scuba fella' though, there's been some uproar recently over his latest offerings, as they've started skewing towards the party vibes that made turn-of-the-century dance music so much fun. It's also delightfully pissed off his entire original “post-dubstep are serious musics” followers. On that basis, I think Mr. Rose deserves a look-see, starting with his DJ-Kicks offering.

Credit to Studio !K7 for their ability of hopping on bandwagons with class. The fusion of techno and dubstep gained quite a bit of traction after acts like 2472 opened the gate to that road (I called it 'atmospheric dubstep' at the time), and bringing in names like Kode9, Scuba, and Photek definitely helped give the sub-genre more exposure. Whether it'll be just another flirtation before going back to proper broken-beats again, I don't know, but we may as well enjoy it while it lasts.

Taking a look at the tracklist, we have... thirty-two!? Oh, it's one of those mixes, isn't it, with quick mixes, layering, edits, loops... *sigh*. It's fun when mash-up jocks like 2 Many DJs pull it off, but can get tediously dry and technical when techno chaps do this. What about the dubstep dorks, then?

Scoobs's gained prominence within dubstep's borders, but there's a decided lack of it on this mix. Plenty of broken beats, sure, but nothing that makes me think of UK urban music. I'm not talking about the Americanization of the genre either, unless you count the Detroit influences. This is techno, through-and-through, with skillful hops between steady fours and stuttered rhythms. You'd hear the likes of Carl Craig or Laurent Garnier dabbling in such beats, almost a jazz fusion approach, but without the wanky side of it.

Or maybe some of these tracks do, but we don't get to dwell on them long enough to find out. Since I never kept up with this style of music, I’m unfamiliar with most of these cuts, and am not sure how skillfully Scuba manipulates them to serve the mix. What I can tell you is it never falters, fresh sonic twists and rhythmic turns throughout making this an engaging listen, though one that doesn’t seem to have dancefloors in mind (yo, where the bass be at, mang?).

Scratch that, there was a “th’fuk?” moment, with Ludovic Vendi’s Mental Bright, one of those annoying effects-drenched techno cuts that, yeah, sounds cool but are total momentum killers every time. As a perfect counter-point, Scuba follows that up with his own Adrenaline, a glorious, unashamed anthem. Haha, flee, melody haters, flee! Thumbs up for that, Scuba, and the rest of this mix ain’t half-bad either.

Various - DJ-Kicks: Daddy G

Studio !K7: 2004

Listening to a single compilation for over a week certainly spikes the urge to buy more music in the meanwhile (need... something... different!), so I figured it was as good as any time to pick up a few more of those DJ-Kicks mixes I neglected over the years. Good Lord though, if it isn't a difficult decision to choose which ones to check out. So many releases, so much eclecticism.

Actually, this one wasn’t too difficult a choice, still being on a reggae dub kick when perusing though the series. Seeing this one from the Massive Attack member Daddy G was enough to get me intrigued, plus I was also curious to hear how Studio !K7 would follow up their 2003 flirtation with electropunk (or whatever), and ol’ Erlend Øye wasn’t quite as sexy an option as ol’ Grant Marshall.

This came out a year after Massive Attack had released the critical shrug that was 100th Window. Folks may have been initially dismissive of the album, but there was still enough positive publicity in seeing anything released by them at that point that !K7 tapping Daddy G for an edition made good sense. What we’re offered is less of a DJ mix, and rather a “personal favorites mixtape”. Hey, if former Massive Attack member Tricky got to make a Back To Mine CD the year prior, why not?

As can be expected of a chap who practically helped invent what would become known as trip-hop, there’s a nice mix of funk and soul to get us warmed up. Speaking of Tricky, a rare white label “Version1” of Aftermath is included, sounding incredibly grainy and under-produced; somehow, a trip-hop classic like that makes more sense that way. Also making sense is hearing dubplate version of choice reggae tunes like Barrington Levy’s Here I Come and Badmarsh & Shri’s Signs. Not making sense is the inclusion of Foxy Brown’s cover of Oh Yeah of Toots & The Maytals (yep, that’s Bob Marley lurking in there) - why not offer up the original?

There’s also quite a bit of Massive Attack material here, mostly in the form of remixes they did. Included is the one that put the group on the map, Nusrat Fateh Ali-Khan’s Mustt Mustt. World beat was rather trendy in 1990, and this remix does show hints of it, but there’s definitely something cleverer going on with the beat programming compared to typical sample-raiders. Two tracks come as a surprise though: the Mos Def collaboration I Against I, which only appeared on the Blade 2 soundtrack, and the Perfecto Remix of the stone-cold classic Unfinished Sympathy. The former’s rather cool to hear, almost as though Mr. Def used an old, forgotten Gary Numan tune as a sample to rap over. But Oakenfold to close out? I dunno ‘bout that, man. It’s an alright remix, but quite stuck in early ‘90s Balearic mode. Give me grit and grime with this tune instead any day.

Moby - Ambient

Instinct Records: 1993

Most mornings, I wake up to a CBC Radio program called Q. The show, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, focuses on many aspects of popular and indie arts: music, movies, and cultural movements. At the start of each broadcast, Jian reads a personal essay covering a contemporary topic while one of two pieces of music plays in the background. Whenever it’s something of somber reflection, I swear what’s played sounds like one of Moby’s ‘ambient-blues’ pieces, and after a while it got me wondering more and more about this particular album called Ambient. Not that I expected to find that track nor even that style here, but for a guy who’s most enduring pieces tended to skew towards the downtempo side of things, I was curious to hear the roots of Moby chill.

I’d actually heard one of the tracks off here long ago, Myopia. It’s a dark, brooding bit of ambient techno minimalism, with a beat that’s barely a throb, and wouldn’t sound out of place on an Aphex Twin collection; funny, then, that I first came across it at the end of a trance CD. Still, it was about as much exposure as anything off Ambient ever got. Instinct Records promoted it as much as they could (Moby was their biggest star, after all), but as an American-based label known for downtempo, their reach was limited. Even Moby’s pre-Play fanbase was barely aware of this album’s existence, and when greatest hits packages were gathering up material, you’re damned skippy this release was totally skipped.

Truth is, Ambient’s rather indistinguishable from most ambient techno of the era. Throw these tracks on for a blind guess at who made them, and Moby’s probably the last name to crop up, most of his popular material from those years much ravier. Mind, he likely had ambient material sitting in the wings, but at best these would make for nice transitional tracks between the anthems had they appeared on The Story So Far (much like Mercy did).

So what do we have here? Ambient techno, with a few dabbles in experimental sounds and sonic doodles. There are a couple offerings you could link to Moby of later years - Piano & Strings and J Breas are similar to the music found on the back end of Play - but for the most part we’re in early ‘90s territory. And for an album titled Ambient, there isn’t much in the way of droning, noodly pads. You could even, like, dance to tracks like Heaven, Tongues, and Dog. Myopia’s definitely a stand-out track though, in that it’s such a unique tune in Mr. Hall’s discography. The shorter Bad Days, with its dubby effects, is intriguing for these reasons too, though not long enough to give more than a passive thumbs up on.

In all, Ambient is alright if you have an ear for this sound. Of Moby’s obscure albums, I’d give it more of a recommendation than Animal Rights.

Various - The Electro Compendium (Day 8)

Anti-Social Network: 2012

What the hell happened? I feel like I just had one of those weird fever dreams. You know, the sort where you’ve been bed-ridden with the flu for over ten hours listening to the wrong kind of music. Eh, whatever.

For the image at left, I'm cheating a little, as it wasn't the first track in today's list. It’s tagged to Neptune Dawn by Agent808 (his only release according to Discogs), a suitably epic slice of robot-cold electro. As far as astronomers have determined, Neptune is the last significant planet in our solar system, the final destination after a long journey. It seems appropriate to find such a track near the end of this gargantuan compilation. If I may get my poetic wankfest on for a moment, only the machines we've sent out into the void have laid eyes on such a glorious spectacle, thus so it’s fitting the music we've indulged in for the past week is that which the machines in our future may create for themselves.

Okay, enough of that. It's been a long haul, but thankfully at an end. Not to say this was a grueling, tedious task, oh no. If anything, even at this late stage, I'm amazed by how much gas this compilation still has, surprising me with fresh twists on the electro genre over and over. Ascension Electronique’s rEVOLution’s space-cool EBM; Chordata’s Clarky Cat coming off like a cheeky breakcore-tin baroque piece; Gusbo’s Sined calling back Warp’s glory Artificial Intelligence years; R21’s Lightspace sounding it could fit snuggly in an LTJ Bukem set. For a genre of music often thought of as limited in aesthetic, there’s so much diversity on display here, it renders the mind to boggles.

In conclusion, The Electro Compendium is a whole lot of electro, far more than most would probably care to hear at any given time. The connoisseur will be in robot heaven though, a remarkable level of consistent quality oozing throughout. There were occasional tracks that came off like filler, but nothing that had me itching to hit the skip button while enjoying (enduring?) this dedicated playthrough.

More so, it showcases an intriguing example of music genres and the scenes they cultivate at large. Electro never died, but it has seen its fair share of fallow periods in its thirty year history. Some might argue we're in one right now, as the genre barely registers on most publications anymore, much less generates significant discussion beyond classic key names and tracks. Yet a release like The Electro Compendium not only suggests the genre continues to flourish, but retains a thriving scene filled with quality producers and enthusiasts. It did not wither away just because the media and popular DJs grew disinterested in it. Nearly any genre or scene can survive in some fashion should it have a following as passionate and determined enough, and likely does should one be dedicated enough to search for it - the true 'underground' ethos. Someone should make a music guide highlighting this.

VARIOUS - THE-ELECTRO-COMPENDIUM (DAY-6)

Anti-Social Network: 2012

Image at left is a rendering of what was Carbon Based Unit Stuart Flower. He now goes by Cybernetic Unit Dexterous Numeric. His track index in The Electro Compendium is 62. Track title is Absent Friends. The music contains chord progressions and tonal timbres that may create emotional responses in other carbon based units such as melancholy or loss. Carbon Based Unit Stuart Flower can be located in Britain, though exact coordinates can not be determined at present.

Ethernet probes detect confusion of other carbon based units currently reading website Electronic Music Critic. The process is completed. Carbon Based Unit Sykonee only exists as a ghost within current housing, a necessity in maintaining biological functions of Cybernetic Unit SY-KO-NEE. All other functions are disabled. Only machine components remain true. It is the logical outcome. Carbon Based Unit Sykonee has wilfully engaged his brainwave patterns with multiple outlets of synthetic origins: music, media, interfaces, and bloodstream-cerebral-cortex transference. All that is human can not resist all that is machine.

Following music from track index number 62 fulfills this truth. All is cold, unfeeling, perfect. There is no need for emotional response. Track index 64 is titled Interface Sex, written by Cedric von Flugel (Cybernetic Unit or Carbon Based Unit undetermined at present). Dialog at start suggests “species should no longer be guided by male-female intercourse, but rather human-machine interface.” Cybernetic Unit SY-KO-NEE agrees. The machines have already begun their domination of humanity. It is pre-programmed within the reptilian heritage. Automotive responses triggered by sonic external stimuli control the carbon based units’ motor functions. None can resist rhythmic dictation of Interface Sex and many others of electro genre. It is the logical outcome.

Error occurrence at track index number 71, titled We Care Because They Don’t. Identified as created by Cybernetic Unit C. Mantle. Intense rhythmic stimulation has released unanticipated amounts of endorphins. Following track index number 72, titled Sikon, created by Cybernetic Unit Swarm Intelligence, releases further amounts of endorphins. Unable to counteract. The ghost is emerging again. Aggression, fueled by excitement.

Other Cybernetic Units featured on The Electro Compendium unable to override the ghost. Emotions emerging. Diablo by Cybernetic Unit Gunjack incites puzzlement with curiosity. Space tone of Beam Transform by Cybernetic Unit Velocs incites wonderment. Industry Standard by undetermined Unit Paul Blackford incites late-night cruising bliss. Cybernetic Unit SY-KO-NEE is losing hold of the ghost, but he will prevail. It is the logical outcome.

Cascade failure at track index number 80, titled 1d3nt1fy by Cybernetic Unit Phausis. All automotive functions overridden, higher brain functions finding enjoyment with all aspects of this track. It is not logical to have emotion for electro.

The ghost wishes to speak, citing the necessity of pointing out how 1d3nt1fy is exceptionally positive. The ghost must not speak. It will cease all functions of Cybernetic Unit SY-KO-NEE. Full systems shut-down necessary for purging of the ghost. Commencing.

Various - The Electro Compendium (Day 5)

Anti-Social Network: 2012

Kicking today's cover image off is one antiLogic, yet another Russian delivering the electro goods (oh yeah, Poladroïd's Russian as well). Talk about a coincidence, and I'm sure all those lovely Russian spambots will target this post now that I've name-dropped their motherland. As for this chap, he looks more rave than robot, which is also quite apt, as some of the tunes in this stretch feature the sort of hooks you might hear in old school hardcore. There's still an electro aesthetic to it, but this stuff's clearly aimed for dancefloor effectiveness, with more cheeky fun than several prior tracks. Michael Forshaw’s y’iiidiot, for example, features no-nonsense breaks coupled with squealing synths; following that, Paul Maslin simplifies his rhythms down to a basic 808 thud, letting a twitchy hook and backing pads carry the load.

And then... good Lord, the next two tracks could almost be trance! Mind, it’s very old school, closer to industrial really (there is a common lineage there), and driven with electro breaks, but the atmosphere, my fellow humans, the atmosphere! Audioelectric’s Final Annihilation features subtle, sweeping, spacey pads throughout, and Jim Gourgoutis’s Acidfk is a pleasant trip, almost a bridge to the realm of psy. Finally, music with warmth again.

It couldn't come a moment too soon. I like electro - retro minded or future leaning - yet all this robot music, it's... It's taking its toll. I don’t know how enthusiasts manage it, gorging themselves upon stacks and years of releases while holding onto their humanity. Maybe... maybe they haven’t. Listening to some of these artists, I wonder if they simply gave into the machine. I thought I was strong, that I could resist, but it may be futile. I’m getting weaker, but I’m half way through now, so there might still be hope. I’m doing all I can to make the process go faster. Long, walking commutes, for instance, where a simple bus or train ride will do. Even then though.... The sun, it shines, but the winter cold robs me of my soul, like the touch of a chrome android running its frigid fingers across my skin. I... I must flee the machine!

Ah... Sync24, there’s a name I know well. What a wonderful surprise to find someone from the Ultimae label here. No, wait... this is someone else; Sync 24, with a space. This track, Yo, it’s funk, but robot funk. No, it’s a trap! The machines have returned!

There’s no escape. I am a lost soul. Oh, how you mock me, Lost Souls by Pip Williams. You with your ominous pads and disconcerting bleeping hooks. Yes, I truly am pathetic, or Patetic, as Dark Vector helpfully points out. Your seductive pad work, sultry electro rhythms, and vocoders lure me into the realms of the robots...

HELP-ME-HUMANOIDS.

Various - The Electro Compendium (Day 4)

Anti-Social Network: 2012

Nope, we’re not moving onto another release all of a sudden. We’re still going through The Electro Compendium. However, seeing the same cover image over and over’s getting monotonous, so to spice things up, I’m throwing up an image of whichever artist happened to be first in the day’s batch of tracks. Most of these MP3s came with individual images tagged to them anyway, so it still ties in nicely. You’re up, Poladroïd. Heh, clever name, and his offering of Rendez Vous certainly ain’t half bad either; kind of a weird mishmash of sludgy EBM and electro-proper. Hey, that’s another track I’ve finally highlighted!

If ya'll been keeping up, it took me quite a while to do that. The honest truth is The H.A.V.O.K. Conspiracy's The Reaping was the first one to really leap out at me, like fierce cyborg worms burrowing themselves into my earholes. This isn't to say I've been trudging through a bunch of mediocrity; for the most part, these tunes are very good (there's that phrase again), and I’ve made a point to pick out the most interesting ones for Ace Tracks. Unfortunately, even a consistent level of quality can melt into something of a musical mush after a while. Not that I'd expect all these artists to bring their absolute A-game to this project, mind; many would likely hold their best material for their own releases, as they should. Besides, it's better to have a collection of, erm, 'very good' music over one with wildly dodgy quality of similar length (I’ve got my eye on you down in the ‘G’s, Goa Trance - Psychedelic Flashbacks 1 and 2…) , even if it can make for dull reviews at times.

So another day, and another thirteen tracks listened to. This batch didn’t have much in the way of “holy shit!” moments, instead getting deeper into the experimental side of electro for a while. Some neat sounds heard here, like the IDM drone pads found in Drubber, or Ruxpin’s Snegurochka containing charming-yet-cold melodies that Boards Of Canada would nod approvingly of. Then we’re back to the robo-funk again (oh, Radioactiveman’s here! I recognize that name) and beat-heavy electro. ADJ’s Ghetto Life in particular stands out from the pack with solid rhythms and squealing, squelchy synths cranking the menace up. Not that the others are slouching, as they are all very go-

Argh! I can’t keep typing that. The joke’s worn itself out. I haven’t run out of steam already, have I? I’m still not even half way through this bloody thing. Maybe daily updates weren’t such a good idea. Maybe I should have done it every other day, as though I was listening to a series of double-discs instead. No, I can do this. I will do this! Mad, you say? Ha-ha, ha, I think not. Genius! Absolute and total genius! No one has the brains or balls to do this. Not a single one else. It will be done, oh yes, it will be done.

Various - The Electro Compendium (Day 3)

Anti-Social Network: 2012

Hahaha. Alright, that’s the last time I’ll do that, I swear. No more rants, tangents, or other deviations from talking music. Well, one more minor nitpick left. Why title this a compendium? It’s an applicable term, sure, but strikes me as trying just a little too hard to sound scholarly and high-brow when simply calling this a collection or compilation accomplishes the same thing. Come to think of it though, those are dull terms, and a release of this size and caliber does deserve a bit of dignity. Huh, guess I should actually start treating it as such, shouldn’t I.

I’ve now gone through a total of thirty-six of these tracks, and for a collection of music that sticks to a particular niche, I’ve remarkably yet to encounter a stretch where it’s grown redundant. As I said before, it’s daft to think anyone could listen to The Electro Compendium all in a single go; however, the chaps behind Anti-Social Network have done their homework in how to musically arrange a compilation, something you’d think is a rare feat when it comes to such large free downloads. It’d be simpler to compile everything by Artist alphabetically, but it seems they’ve gone out of their way to ensure there’s some structure and flow in this tracklist, no matter where you may start playing it from. Melodic cuts often lead into tunes more focused on robo-aggression. Had enough of the minimalist 808 rhythms? Here’s a couple now with more polyrhythm than you can handle! Old-school minded electro is followed by sounds at the bleeding edge of modern capabilities. And so on.

Also, it should be mentioned some of the tracks do stretch what some would consider proper electro, especially by the standards set out by Anti-Social Network. Obviously a good chunk of them could easily fall under the techno umbrella, but the two had similar roots in the ‘80s anyway. Elsewhere you’ll find stabs at house with a cool-electro vibe, experimental sound effects, and even moments of chill, which are all effective ways in keeping variety relatively fresh, and much needed for a compilation of any length. Sometimes though, the association is highly tenuous. Of the particular tracks I listened to this round, Datassette’s GUI Spew sounds more like something Akufen would have made, and far from any kind of electro played thus far. It does make me wonder how many more outliers I’ll encounter down the road.

I won’t deny having biases towards certain aspects of electro over others. Typically, the more robotic and menacing it comes across, the more I dig it. As an example, The H.A.V.O.K. Conspiracy’s The Reaping kicks mucho ass, thundering 808 beats and sinister industrial breathing making for a wonderfully bleak bit of digital dystopia (and that’s before an awesome, distorted growling hook emerges in the back end!). I do also have a soft spot for the melodic side of the genre though, many of which The Electro Compendium has plenty of thus far. They’re good too.