roots in heaven is a berlin-based act that could very easily capitalize on his past accomplishments within the world of intrepid electronic music. as a label owner, resident dj at cutting-edge clubs, and accomplished solo artist behind a number of conceptually unique full-length albums, the conceiver of this project won’t likely need any introduction to the intrepid fans of electronic music.

having established itself with innovative releases from the likes of lucy, blawan and roots in heaven, the experimental zehnin label now looks to paleman for four more fierce tracks. now often releasing on his own plmn label, this classically and jazz trained artist has previously won plenty of fans and plaudits for heavyweight rollers on labels like swamp 81, 81 and school records. emerging from the ashes of dubstep to come up with his own deep techno sound, he is a rinse fm regular with his experimental show ‘trenches and mirrors this exploration with tracks full of texture, modular synthesis and visceral percussion. opener ‘2068 is a dark and foreboding bit of economical techno. monolithic kicks set a forceful groove below as they rock back and forth, and factory floor sounds, scurrying little sonic details and rattling hits all peel off the groove as it powers on

berlin based zehnin keeps up a fine release schedule by asking blawan to remix its inaugural ep from lucy. once again focussing on experimental, ambient and techno sounds, it is another fascinating release. blawan has been in his own sound world for years now. releasing on the likes of hessle audio, hinge finger and his own ternesc, hes made brutalist, heavily textured tracks, big room tools and dark grooves with freaky sound design. its all helped to make him one of the most interesting producers of the day, and here he shows another side to his sound. first up is his version of ‘the hermit, which is seven spacious and mysterious minutes of creeping pads and implicit rhythms. dark but inviting, its stripped back, hollowed out techno that manages to be hugely absorbing and menacing without any clearly defined drums. on the flip is the equally beguiling ‘the high priestess. deep, subliminal kicks set the tone as groaning riffs, train-track percussion and distant, tortured pads all slowly hypnotise. it builds in pressure and creeps you out as it locks you ever further in. this is evocative dead-of-night music that says a lot in impressively economical ways.

taking charge of the first release is lucy, who has evolved his distinct sound signature by reconciling the deeply personal with the esoteric, and by harmonizing the spheres of technology and biology. whether he is acting in the role of producer, dj, performer, or stroboscopic artefacts curator, lucys clear passion for creative evolution and mutation is something that continues to attract new listeners, and keeps giving his current supporters new reasons to continue tuning in. ep opener the hermit is eight minutes of spacious and cerebral techno. rolling drums are buried deep as little flecks of sound design peel off the groove. occasional bell hits bring a sombre and languid feel despite the drive of the drums, and it is the sort of perfectly absorbing track that will suck you down a 5am rabbit hole. on the flip, ‘the high priestess’ is a similarly mental work out that is empty and eerie, with distant drones and yawning pads outlining a vast underground space. the drums here are again rubbery and rolling, but a little more prominent, and the whole thing manages to be both soothing and unsettling. after this fine ep starts the label in style, a remix ep from blawan will follow.