Nitronoise, Jared Blyth, Benji303, Fil Devious, Adam Derry – Acid Techno 005 (Injector Records)

Cat no: Acid Techno 005

The reasons to love Adam Derry – that he’s mercurial, uncompromising and makes noisy, challenging electronic music that isn’t fêted by Boomkat or Wire Magazine – can also sometimes be his downfall, meaning he can veer into unlistenable territory and has a tendency to produce overlong tracks. I Can’t Name Tunes (150 BPM), for example, would benefit from being a good three minutes shorter, despite the presence of a marvellously unwashed 303. Miles better is Threshold Driven (160 BPM), a sweaty, fidgety seizure of a track that uses waves of distorted acid-driven noise to punishing but undeniably awesome effect. Whether you’d like a second dose in I Don’t Use Sample Packs (155 BPM) may well depend on how much you want a repeat viewing of the fire extinguisher scene in Irréversible.

Remixed by Benji303, Jared Blyth’s Fucking Cocaine has an accordingly hollowed-out and distanced feel to it, while a treated animal-noise adds the requisite note of self-disgust. Only the 303 feels a little underdeveloped, lacking the darkness and bite elsewhere. Fil Devious’s Phat Pants, meanwhile, is a tremendous tune that absolutely rewards close and repeated listens, especially to the trippy, kaleidoscopic 303 that courses through all seven-and-a-half minutes, bouncing off a metallic melody, dipping and soaring and turning inside itself like a Möbius strip. Phil’s tracks always deliver, but this is one of those you feel can stand on its own outside of the mix.

Which leaves Nitronoise. Nitronoise is Injector Records’ head honcho Gabriel Stirbu, and his tracks invariably have a ravey, old skool quality that makes them a real joy to hear. Get ’Em Up The Fuck (145 BPM), for example, is the party right there, and like That’s My Shit (145 BPM) uses bouncy, good-time vocal samples and chord changes for funky, eminently mixable techno. Acid Junxion (145 BPM), meanwhile, employs cavernous echo-soaked drums for a harder, booming sound destined to sound ace on big rigs or headphones, whichever is your poison.

2011 Autumnal Acidity

Some NEW acid in the mix, mainly from the last few months.

Tracklisting is:

Alex Kenji & Luigi Rocca – Acid Monks
F+S (Franz & Shape) – Acid One
Adam Derry – 130 Jam
Woo York & Vegim – Bass Machinnen (DAVE The Drummer dub mix)
D.A.V.E The Drummer & Marcello Perri – Purpose
Justin E – Resistance
Freethinker – Release The Scud
Freethinker – 401
Chris Liberator & Sterling Moss – Acid Corrosion
Steve Mills – London Acid Techno
A.P & Josh Inc – Pure fuzz
Nitronoise – Drink & Drive
Zoid – Day Off
Tik Tok & Turtle – Boxed Up
Tik Tok – Fucka Hooka (2011 mix)
Justin E – Jacob’s Ladder
Mobile Dogwash – Roll Em Phat
Acid Chochi – Running For Fun
OB1 – A Little Something
Subutex & DJ D8 – Fuck That
Austin Corrosive – Recharge
Tassid – Recharge Remix
KitShunt – With A K (1st Edit)

All 2011, All Acid Techno Mix

Here’s a mix I made of… well, it’s a bit daft to say it’s the ‘best’ Acid Techno of 2011 so far, since I can’t possibly presume to be familiar with it all but this is the best Acid Techno of 2011 that I’ve heard, at least.

The tracklisting is…

D.A.V.E The Drummer - Acid In The Box
D.A.V.E The Drummer & Chris Liberator - Twinkle Toes
Jamie C - Shitbag
Sterling Moss - Never Give In
A.P - Can't Get Enough
Syndrome – MFT (D.A.V.E. The Drummer Remix)
Austin Corrosive - The Drums
Ben Fraser - Tek Stream
Nitronoise - Missed F*ck
DDR And James Kinetic - The Cross Joint
D.A.V.E. The Drummer & Tassid - Keep It Going
Sterling Moss - Rock N Rolla
Chris Liberator & Darc Marc - Happy Birthday LSD
Nitronoise - Acid Crumble
A.P - Ride It
D.A.V.E The Drummer - Stop The System
Chris Liberator, Sterling Moss & Maxx - Deadly Swine
Hectech - Lock'n Loud

Nitronoise, Projekt 51, Fil Devious – Acid Techno 001 (Injector Records)

Cat no: Acid Techno 001
Release date: 22/02/11

Acid Crumble – Nitronoise**
BPM: 145
Either Injector Records are new or this EP is their first foray into Acid Techno, I’m not sure which; either way, Acid Crumble was the track I heard first, prompting me to download the whole EP (it’s download-only, this one). It’s a long, ambitious track that hits the ground running with a hard kick so polished you can almost hear it gleam, has something happening every eight bars, whether it’s a swoosh, a stutter or a little backwardsy sound, then a supple acid line that swings by at about 2.15. There are vocal samples plucked from suburban America, ‘You parked in front of my driveway!’ etc. but it’s not clear how they tie into the title, if indeed they do, and then a distinct third section that actually sounds like a different track. Overall it’s a cracking tune that sounds nice and fizzy in the mix as long as you like a busy, crowded sound, because there’s literally never a dull moment with it.

No Supply  – Fil Devious
BPM: 147
When I first came across the name Fil Devious, many moons ago, I fondly imagined Fil from Back to the Planet was following in the footsteps of Guy McAffer and D.A.V.E. the Drummer and that, just as many of the cast of Predator have gone into US politics, so it was with members of Back to the Planet and acid techno. My red face when I discovered that Fil is a bloke from Wales! Lucky I never told anyone, eh? Fil’s always quality, whether it’s his mixes or production, and this is no diffrerent, a bit less peak time than Acid Crumble, perhaps, a prelude to the storm, rather than the storm itself.

Acid Train – Nitronoise
BPM: 145
This is too quiet; it actually sounds as though it’s been mastered lower than the rest of the set. Is it worth reaching for the gain? Well, it’s a bouncy, lively track, with busy 303 stabs all over, but lacks the je ne sais quoi of Acid Crumble and rather sounds as though, with this train, the lads from Nitronoise had (wait for it; it’s coming) run out of steam!

Nomenospace – Projekt 51
BPM: 150
The trouble with this is it’s just not banging enough for the speed of it, if that makes sense. It’s all a bit laid back for 150BPM, plus there’s a repeated vocal of a guy saying, ‘We were born to dance,’ when everybody knows we were born to run.