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.

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. Quantum Collapse – Kumaras 4 [Apnea Records]

Eduardo De La Calle explores the more introspective, experimental side of his repertoire on “Kumaras 4.” It’s a warm, melodic IDM journey that rewards multiple listens.

2. Dubfire – Deadbug (Nadia Struiwigh Remix) [Sci+Tec]

Dutch hardware enthusiast Nadia Struiwigh turns “Deadbug” by Dubfire into a gritty, cinematic soundscape that treads a three-way tightrope between drum and bass, electronica, and techno.

3. BrandNewTrumpets – To You [Diffrent Music]

“To You” is a welcome return to Diffrent Music for BrandNewTrumpets. The rapidly rising star takes her sound into more cosmic, atmospheric territory while retaining the precise drum programming and heavy low end that characterize her music.

4. Qant – Blackest Night [KAVAL13]

Qant evokes the early days of dubstep, when it was basically a deeper and darker take on UK garage. Shuffling beats, dusty chords, and rugged bass stabs make “Blackest Night” mandatory listening for dubstep purists.

5. Regal86 – Kollekt [Self-Released]

Just one tune from an absolutely mammoth, 100-track release of previously unreleased music, “Kollekt” is subtle, lush breakbeat from Mexico’s Regal86.

6. Nebuchadnezzar – I dont think so [Self-Released]

Chaotic, up-tempo, and expansive bass music that manages to make minimalism sound brutal. Nebuchadnezzar completely throws convention out the window with “I dont think so” to brilliant effect.

7. Esc & Mineral – The Red Death [Straight Up Breakbeat]

Esc & Mineral balance heavy bass and breaks with heady, spacious pads to create an intricate, meditative jungle track with just the right amount of grit.

8. M​ø​ntero – Metal Flex [Illegal Alien Records]

Absolutely gnarly sounds drive “Metal Flex” by Møntero forward, with desiccated sine waves and glitchy bleeps weaving in and out of a grimy bass line and punchy drums.

9. Joakuim – Profondeur [Planet Rhythm]

Usually active in the drum and bass and jungle scene, Joakuim takes his flair for intricate arrangement, warm atmospheres, and rolling bass, and applies it to low-slung dub techno.

10. Lamin Fofana – Toco SOS [Self-Released]

“Toco SOS” is a slowly unfurling, percussive journey from Lamin Fofana that reaches a jubilant climax with forlorn vocal chants, bubbling synth sequences, and interesting field recordings.

11. JK Flesh – PI11.1 [Pi Electronics]

Justin K. Broadrick continues his adventures into electronic music with “PI11.1,” a distorted, scratchy rhythm that pays tribute to his roots in industrial and metal music while spiraling even further down the rabbit hole of abstract sound design and synthesis.

12. G​ö​cke & Anniverse – ACGTU (Luigi Tozzi Remix) [Aedi Records]

The already hypnotic “ACGTU” gets a remix from Luigi Tozzi. The Italian maestro turns it into a psychedelic, ambient techno trip that’s equally effective late at night on a big sound system as it is playing through headphones at the afters.

13. Mark Williams – Subliminal Fragment [N&N Records]

Legendary hardgroove producer Mark Williams is on a roll lately, returning from an eight-year hiatus to drop rolling, percussive grooves like he never even left. “Subliminal Fragment” is quintessential Williams: funky, tough and full of clever sample manipulation.

14. Jeff Mills – Methane Bubbles [Axis]

“Methane Bubbles” is the kind of jazzy, cosmic, soulful house music with a touch of techno flair that only Jeff Mills knows how to make.

15. Minimalphunk Featuring Juliane – unless sweet [Area Code 221]

A beautiful leftfield electronica piece, “unless sweet” was originally commissioned for a performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which unfortunately never went ahead. The track ended up on an obscure chillout compilation released at the turn of the millennium. Minimalphunk has recently uncovered the track, uploading it to his Bandcamp for a new generation to experience.

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Following the artist’s 2020 debut on Edit Select, Linear System‘s latest release has found a home on a venerated techno institution. The Extensive Research EP arrived by way of Dutch label Planet Rhythm on April 9th. The six-track effort is available in digital and vinyl format.

Linear System’s style of minimal techno expands further in the Extensive Research EP. “Inanimate Things,” which opens the effort, sounds akin to the atmospheric sound encapsulated in last year’s Space Exploration and January’s Further Exploration. The title track deviates with Jeff Mills-esque dissonance, however, with foreboding synths building up to visceral textures in “Mercury.” Meanwhile, cerebral melodies and sultry tension define “Thermodynamics” and “Accurate.”

Aside from the fact that the project is based in Girona, Spain, no information is available that would point to Linear System’s identity. Their releases on Edit Select and Dynamic Reflection have nonetheless garnered support from the likes of Laurent Garnier, Ben Sims, DVS1 and Slam, among others.

The Extensive Research EP can be purchased both digitally and as a 12-inch vinyl record via Planet Rhythm Bandcamp.

Yan Cook‘s inventive approach to minimal techno sound design is on full display in the Inferno EP. The effort comprised of five cerebral cuts arrived by way of Rotterdam, Netherlands record label Planet Rhythm on vinyl August 21st with digital format to follow on September 7th.

“Order” ushers in the EP with grating, metallic sound effects and suspenseful atmospheres before the buzzing high-end sonics of “Worm.” The title track is the arguable standout of the effort for its reverb-heavy lead synth and purposeful progression. “Lucid” and “Cosmonaut” offer similarly diverse manifestations of the Yan Cook sound; the latter track is available exclusively in digital format.

Yan Cook was born in Kiev, Ukraine and was exposed to techno as a teenager. In addition to releases the likes of Delsin Records, SOMA and ARTS, he releases music via his own label, Cooked Records.

The Inferno EP is available on vinyl via deejay.de, Decks Records and Juno Records and will be available in digital format via Bandcamp.

Making his debut on Planet Rhythm is Italian DJ and producer Earwax. He has offered up the Attraverso EP, a six-track hard techno effort on the Rotterdam record label. It released on July 3rd, 2020.

The EP starts off with the title track, an unrelenting, peak-time cut that gradually layers frenetic sound design elements over a base of dissonant plucks. “Dry Sound,” “This Tool” and “Heisenberg” follow with more avant-garde, jarring motifs. Two digital exclusives titled “I Don’t Stop” and “The Day” close the effort out on a deeper note.

Domenico Petrosino began releasing music as Earwax in 2019, beginning with a 12-inch record titled Club 25 by way of A R T S imprint Arts White. Earlier in 2020, he debuted on Pushmaster Discs with a single titled “Isa fire” on the Bologna label’s Pattern #2 compilation.

Purchase the Attraverso EP in vinyl and digital format via Bandcamp.