#14 Feat. New Releases in Hard Techno

FoxBam Inc returns with its fourth EP, keeping the quality level high with another talent-packed double pack of crisp, floor-battering productions. Gez Varley, originally one half of original UK techno bleep techno innovators LFO, is an illustrious addition to the roster here, alongside Italian-born, Spanish-based acid warrior Vikkei and label founders Foxtrot and Egebamyasi. Varleys contributions to UK techno go right back to the seismic LFO, We Are Back and Richie Hawtin collaboration Loop as well as solo smashes like Quo Vardis (as G-Man), which singlehandedly forged the dub techno template when it dropped in 1994. Celebrating three decades as a solo artist in 2025, hes in particularly productive form right now, making up for lost time after serious illness forced him out of action until recently. Opening honours fall to Foxtrot, a veteran producer with feet in both the techno and drum & bass camps, and the suitably sturdy acid effort Battle Scars. This track packs a slamming four to the floor impact embellished with restless 303 acid wriggling, drum machine claps, vicious stabs and eerie sonics, all topped off with echoing, sinister voices. A proper 3am peak time weapon to keep your public nailed to the floor.Even tho foxtrots track is a bit dry,music fans must remember he,s amoanin face when fokk pit 808 insteed o 303 an also his dugs are very unfreendy even when ye gire thum biscuits,dry yins. Vikkei ups the tempo with the even more rampant hard techno track Hip n Crack, a punishing kick drum driving proceedings on mercilessly, eventually morphing from its bare boned, sci-fi flavoured opening into a bubbling, prowling acid monster. Its packed with suspense and tense atmospherics, always seemingly turning itself inside out and heading somewhere new. Egebamyasis Mandubchester marks new territory for the Scottish producer, who celebrated 40 years of acid house mayhem in spectacular style on Foxbam at the end of last year with the Its An ACID Thing EP. Mandubchester is a different beats altogether, reflecting Mr Eggs new found love for the power of the wobble bassline and the more leftfield end of bass and dubstep. Gez Varleys Saturn One , meanwhile, is everything weve come to expect from one of technos grand masters. Emerging from a swirling, cinematic intro to be swept upwards by irrepressible arpeggios and crunchy techno beats, its a track with its head way up in the clouds but its feet kept firmly on the dancefloor. Established in 2023 in Scotland to bring you raw underground rhythms on wax, FoxBam Inc has quickly established itself one of the industrys most reliable and exciting providers of floorfilling grooves. With long-established names like G-Man, Belgian producer Outlander and bleep legend Mark Archer (Nexus 21/Altern8) already contributing, its proving itself more than capable of bringing the best in revered and emerging talent alike, united under a banner of unrestrained experimentation and a love of hard hitting underground club music.

Foxtrot, Vikkei, Ege Bam Yasi, Gez Varley