From obscurities uncovered during trips down Bandcamp rabbit holes to the latest releases from legendary artists, Crate Digging is here to keep your collection up to date.

1. Insolate – The Day Will Come (Deniro Remix) [Arkham Audio]

Deniro‘s remix of “The Day Will Come” retains the hypnotic, staccato bass line and percussive rhythms of Insolate‘s original, while adding warmth and soul with lush, filtered pads. Eyes-closed, heads-down business for the early hours of the morning.

2. Dan Piu – Whispers Of Goodbye [Deep Inspiration Show Records]

Sounding like something unearthed from a batch of lost Detroit techno demos, “Whispers Of Goodbye” is actually the latest cut from Zurich-based Dan Piu. Blending sparkling synth sequences, charming chords, and tight, subtle drums, it’s a fine nod to the roots of the genre.

3. Unklevon – Science Club [Boysnoize Records]

Unklevon offsets crisp, robotic drums with gritty synths and a deep, eerie vocal on “Science Club.” The result is dark, four-to-the-floor electro from the dystopian future.

4. Sun People – Runaway [Candy Mountain]

Multi-genre maverick Sun People returns with another mutated hybrid of electro, techno, dub and footwork. “Runaway” is centered around a mechanical, syncopated groove comprised of chirpy percussion, quirky effects, and a gnarly bass line, occasionally joined by urgent synth stabs and off-kilter chords.

5. Aposematism – Stepper [Backpocket Slammers]

Organic meets synthetic in “Stepper,” a heady, minimal, half-time trip. Aposematism takes the drum and bass staples of dubbed-out vocal samples and a rolling low end and combines them with glitchy, heavily effected nature sounds and razor-sharp techno drums.

6. Bruecke – Sketch [W133]

Bruecke utilises subtle sounds for the basis of “Sketch” but combines these elements into a powerful finished product that infuses percussive, broken beat techno with dub sensibilities.

7. Orlando Voorn – Needs [Self-Released]

“Needs” is an energetic, irreverent deep house jam from Dutch mainstay Orlando Voorn. Chopped-up vocals, looped pianos, echoed samples from old soul records, and rugged percussion sounds play off one another in a call-and-response style. They’re all slightly off the grid to give the track a wonky, organic feel.

8. Bl​â​me – Delicious [D​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​é​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​lices du Midi]

Low-slung, stripped-down rhythms from Bl​â​me appear on the latest D​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​é​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​lices du Midi compilation. “Delicious” only needs well-programmed drums, deep sub bass, and some trippy effects to create an inescapable groove.

9. Elsa – Peanut Dust [Common Ancestors]

Exploring the more psychedelic side of bass music, Elsa utilizes trippy soundscapes, wiggly percussion, and a thick bass line on “Peanut Dust” to merge the playful with the heady.

10. Japp Beats – Rhythm Blaster [Planet Rhythm]

Sometimes all you need is an aggressive bass line, some hardcore rave stabs, and a catchy vocal hook. Unashamedly dance floor-focused, “Rhythm Blaster” from Japp Beats is an electro-breaks jam written for big sound systems and sweaty dance floors.

Selector’s Sounds series follows a procedure that puts music quality before status or industry relationships. Learn how it works.

In December 2020, Belgian DJ and producer Cri Du Coeur made a splash with the debut of a record label mostly serving as a vehicle for his own music. Less than a year later, Arkham Audio has released its first various artists compilation. Arkham Friends Part 1 & 2 released on September 3rd in digital format.

Notable figures in the global techno undercurrent feature on the two-part compilation. Arkham Friends Part 1 includes tracks by Dustin Zahn, Denise Rabe and Luis Flores, whereas Drumcell, Florian Meindl and the label boss himself appear on Part 2. The music therein largely speaks to the label’s funky take on techno without betraying the genre’s emphasis on sonic experimentation.

Arkham Origins

Long before Arkham Audio was a glimmer in his eye, Cri Du Coeur (whose only listed name is Jerome D.) was first exposed to techno at U.K. promoter Universe‘s Tribal Gathering in 1993. Initially performing under the moniker G-Rom, he went on to organize Belgian raves such as Area 51 and Defcon.

Jerome D. inaugurated the Cri Du Coeur alias by releasing three 2020 EPs on his newly minted label. Prior to Arkham Friends Part 1 & 2, Arkham Audio also gave a home to 2021 releases by Electric Rescue and T99.

Arkham Friends Part 1 and Arkham Friends Part 2 are each available for purchase in digital format via Juno Download.

Selector’s Sounds series follows a procedure that puts music quality before status or industry relationships. Learn how it works.

Croatian artists Insolate and Sara Renar have teamed up on “something completely different” – for one of them, at least. The former is a DJ and producer, and the latter is an avant-garde pop artist. Together, they released a five-song dark techno EP titled Hyperventilation via Blush Response‘s Megastructure label on March 5th.

The title track leads in the effort with slow-burning, psychedelic sonics, followed by much of the same in “Everything Will Fade.” “What Do You Believe” stands out as the most dance floor-friendly entry of the tracklist, but “The Final March” fires back with experimental tension before “Jutro” closes the effort out. Renar’s vocals appear in short bursts throughout the EP, save for the final track where they’re especially dominant.

Sara Renar’s recording career began in 2013 with her debut album, Djeca, which came out via Aquarius Records. Having previously worked as an architect, her particular style of pop music exhibits experimental influences that perhaps made her appealing as a collaborator to Insolate.

The producer herself boasts a relatively shorter career; her debut 12-inch record, the Mood Module EP, landed on Deeply Rooted in 2015. In the years since, her music has found a home on such labels as Suara, NORD LTD and Out Of Place.

Hyperventilation is available for purchase in digital and 12-inch vinyl formats via Blush Response Bandcamp.