ARKVS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Heavyweight quattro-techno from A Paul, DJ Dextro, Red Rooms, Ramon Tapia and Arkvs for Planet Rhythm. Each track serving as merciless hoisters in the vein of 'Rough' techno, the A1 is deserving of the name, bringing scraping hi-hat blurs and gulping knocks to a mean mix. Deadened, unfeeling, callous calculation follows on the follower 'Binary Codes', while Tapia tabulates a 'Ratio' on the algo-rhythmic bleeper that ensues on the B1. Finally, 'Decoration Drugs' brings a prime movement, its facelessly numbered breakdowns and shuffles assuring us that there is indeed no end to off-planet production processes such as these.

Review: This is the first in a new collaborative series between Derailed Records and Planet Rhythm who have teamed up for a new vinyl series that launches with Rotterdam's ARKVS. 'Sonus' rumbles with low-end threat and fizzy static that locks you in the moment. 'Deviate (feat Ronald Nels)' is more sparse with claps echoing out to an event horizon as supple acid tones linger in the air. 'Amphibian Velocity' layers up gurgling synths and pent-up drum tension and 'Crashing Rhythms' is a punchy but deep closer and a fourth and final evocative and sophisticated offering which gets this series underway in style.

Review: Techno from Rotterdam. What more do you want to know? Anything that comes from that city is guaranteed to be of a certain quality and so it proves with this new 12" (in a hand-stamped sleeve, techno style) from Arkvs. 'Rise & Fall' is the high speed and unrelenting open to sweep you off your feet then 'Killing The Vibe' has ghoulish voices, stomping drums and eerie pads. 'A-110 X 303' brings lashing synths to amp up the intensity and 'Luvion' is a wall rattling, tunneling techno cut for midnight marching. Proper no-frills tackle, this.