BARNT Vinyl & CDs

Review: The icy techno sounds of Cologne's Barnt make their way across Europe here to Studio Barnhus's Swedish bunker. Across five fresh cuts, he brings plenty of experimental flair but also some playful rhythms to a forward-thinking EP that sounds like little else. 'Aqua Melopella' is an unsettling opener with glistening synths scurrying like ants over a sparse rhythm, 'Aqua Breeze' establishes a marching beat and 'Aqua Bass' brings twanging synths and frosted loops that keep you on your toes. 'Millennium Silver' is another tune blend of dystopian synth sounds and distorted lines that speak of human destruction and last of all 'Millennium Melopella' offers moments of ambient reflection.

Review: Magazine 131 is not the hundred and thirty-first Magazine label release, but rather the first single to be taken from label co-founder Barnt's acclaimed 2014 full-length, Magazine 13. It features two reworks of album favourite "Cherry Red". Tale of Us and Recondite join forces on the A-side, delivering a creepy but strangely inviting version built around a pulsating, modular-sounding groove and trippy, top-end electronics. Magazine co-founder Jens-Uwe Beyer opts for a different approach on the flip, lacing sparse, melancholic melodies and ghostly strings atop a sparse but thunderous, kick drum-driven rhythm.

Review: Speicher 125 is the upcoming split EP by German producers and DJs Barnt and Michael Mayer, forming part of the Speicher series, one of Kompakt's many V/A serials. This is music for peaktime dancefloor servicing; 'Teller' and 'Duration' are minimal, intense hooverers, reminiscent of later DJ Koze tracks and/or film soundtrack techno. The B, too, comes in true Barnt style, throwing organic bells and knocks into a beguiling mix.