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September 13th marked the release of Crystal Geometry‘s second studio-length album on Adam X‘s Sonic Groove Records. The ten tracks comprising Distressing Visions are a just fit for the tenured label’s techno and industrial focus. The LP is available in digital and vinyl format.

Singles like “The Seer” and “The Threshold” fall closer to the industrial end of the spectrum compared to techno-leaning cuts like “Elektroshoker” and “Guillotine.” Sprinkled in between are tracklist entries that don’t fit neatly into either genre. From the stuttered vocals and fast pace of “Praxis” to the distorted guitar samples in “Ideologies Ablaze,” the LP showcases a versatile sound signature.

Who is Crystal Geometry?

Crystal Geometry (real name Maxime Fabre) draws upon decades of experience in not only rave and industrial but also punk and metal to yield a style rooted in multiple musical worlds. Perhaps owing to his background, his performances lean heavily on the use of modular synthesizers and other live elements.

Since launching the project in 2016, Fabre has released on labels like Area Z, RND. Records and Sacred Court. In that time he has delivered four studio-length albums – including 2020’s Senestre, his Sonic Groove Records debut.

Distressing Visions is available for purchase in both digital and double 12-inch vinyl record format via Sonic Groove Records Bandcamp.

Héctor Oaks has upheld his penchant for platforming a wide variety of techno-adjacent electronic music. BLEACHED PUNK, an EP comprised of tracks by Tham, Repro, Julian Muller and Binary Digit, somehow touches on both industrial and trance. It releases via Oaks’ record label, KAOS / OAKS, on January 28th.

“Aiming For The Innocent” by Tham tempers hard techno kick drums with suspenseful chords that ring out overhead. Repro, who also appeared on KAOS / OAKS’ August EP, #TOOMUCHISTHEMINIMUM, follows with the softer yet still foreboding “Altschmerz.” Julian Muller’s “Nancy’s Track” stands out as perhaps the most industrial-leaning song of the effort, before a significant departure in the form of the 8-bit-inspired “Sad900” by Binary Digit closes out the effort.

Meanwhile in Berlin

Héctor Oaks’ exploration of experimental, envelope-pushing sounds is by no means confined to his label. The Berlin-based DJ and producer – who has held down residencies in Madrid, Berlin and Tbilisi – recently debuted on Tresor Records with the eight-track Año V​-​I. A journey through BPMs, textures and tones, the effort lends credence to the argument that techno remains a futurist statement not limited by the musings of a bygone era.

KAOS07: BLEACHED PUNK is available for purchase in digital and vinyl formats via Héctor Oaks Bandcamp.

Three cerebral industrial techno cuts by SubXtort have found a home on Chicago label Format Recordings. Accompanying the July 21st, 2020 release of ChromoSomatic is a music video for the EP’s title track designed by the multidisciplinary DJ and producer himself.

The “ChromoSomatic” video is rife with social commentary. Against the backdrop of the single’s distorted kicks and suspenseful atmospheres is footage from protests with glitch effects common to the SubXtort (real name Brian Douglas) brand. “HeavenMantra” hinges around a more diverse arrangement, and “PneumaticEffect” exhibits a deeper iteration of the artist’s sound.

ChromoSomatic is certainly not Douglas’ first foray into protest music. A veteran of Chicago’s rave scene since the ’90s, he’s acutely aware of techno’s potential as a tool of social commentary. His March single, “Tear Down The System,” released in the days leading up to COVID-19 being declared a pandemic, and months before Black Lives Matter protests erupted in countries across the globe.

On Thursday, July 24th, ChromoSomatic reached #21 on Beatport‘s “Techno (Peak Time / Driving / Hard) Top 100 Releases” chart. The placement is all the more impressive as the download store has yet to reintroduce their “Hard Techno” genre category, meaning that Douglas’ abrasive sound must compete with that of more commercial techno purveyors.

Purchase ChromoSomatic by SubXtort in full via Beatport.

Crystal Geometry‘s serrated style of industrial techno continues to speak for itself. The Grenoble-based live performer and producer’s latest effort, the Samain EP, has found a home on SNTS‘ record label, Sacred Court. It arrived in full July 10th, 2020.

The five songs comprising the EP span the abrasive range of sounds connecting industrial and EBM to hard techno. “The Axis Of The Skies” and “Exode” encapsulate the cinematic melody of the former styles, with “Polaris” and “Ivonis” leaning towards the latter. Included in the digital format is “Six And Twenty Thousand Years,” a track whose dynamic arrangement and inventive sonics give it an arguable edge over the rest.

The Elusive Crystal Geometry

Maxime Fabre launched the Crystal Geometry project in 2016, but his involvement in music extends back much further. Steeped in ’90s warehouse raves, his largely live, modular synthesizer-based sound is informed not only by EBM, industrial and techno but also post-punk and black metal.

Sabre’s releases as Crystal Geometry have been championed by venerated electronic music tastemakers. The labels on his growing discography include Adam X‘s Sonic Groove, RND. Records and AREA Z.

Purchase the Samain EP in vinyl and digital formats via Bandcamp.