New Audion material!

Following on from the absolutely barnstorming Audion releases and a killer Fabric mix, Spectral have announced the next move by Matthew Dear's nasty alter-ego. For those that don't know, Matthew Dear has been dropping crisp minimal techno with a killer left-field edge and cold-as-Dracula's-coffin vocals on Spectral Sound for a good few years now (check the 'Leave Luck To Heaven' LP for proof). Then out of the blue at the end of 2004 the first Audion EP 'Kisses' dropped, ditching the concentrated click'n'shuffle of the Matthew Dear work and focusing instead on having the most crushing tweaked-out synths imaginable, and making everyone think about shagging to the music they were hearing. Since then we've had 'The Pong' and 'Just Fucking' 12"s and the LP 'Suckfish', which have maintained the high standard on production and sex-obsessed rhythms, and now it seems the sexual tension will reach fever pitch with a split EP between Audion and Ellen Allien. 'Just a Man/Woman' drops on July 25. Expect a gushing review very shortly after this :)

People of the sun...

While the Glade festival may be nearly unmatchable in it's line-up, no amount of breath-holding can guarantee the weather won't turn the festival into a bad day in Michael Barrymore's swimming pool. In search of warmer climes, SB+B is heading off to Benicassim for the annual beach-orientated shindig. On the coast of Spain between Barcelona and Valencia, for five days people from all over Europe get together to dance all night and sunbathe all day in one of the friendliest festival atmospheres SB+B has had the pleasure to experience. There may be a whole host of lumbering indie trite dominating the main stage, but look deeper into the line-up and the European talent on offer is pants-wettingly good.

Alex Smoke (right) will hopefully deliver lush, complex minimal techno that can move you and make you move simultaneously, if the LP's he's put out on Soma Records is anything to go by. Nature loving German Dominik Eulberg has been delivering top-notch remixes and collabs with the likes of Gabriel Ananda (Harzer Roller being a highlight of the tech-year so far) and no doubt his appearance will meet the demand for twisted layers of beats. Ellen Allien (Grand High Duchess of the excellent B-Pitch Control label) & Apparat (Daddy of the Shitkatapult block) are collaborating live in support of their 'Orchestra of Bubbles' LP, which should mean a nice sit-down set of thought provoking tech-bizness. Isolee (left) is bringing his organic styles for dance music that positively breathes (albeit with the breath of the most weed-infused British tourist in Amsterdam) and judging by his 'Wearemonster' LP the live set should be a lovely place. Everyone's new favourite Frenchmen since Daft Punk stopped making good tunes, Justice will be spreading their manic, filthy-bass driven tomfoolery all over the scantily-clad Spanish masses. Best to prepare for drunken arm-in-arm en masse singing to 'Never Be Alone', their tune with Simian which has been filling dancefloors for the best part of three years now.

There's a huge amount of other terribly exciting stuff (Madness live in Spain?! Oh yes!) so check out the website to see what you may be missing/having to fork out a load of cash to go and see, and expect a sketchy report of sorts at the end of July.

At a loose end in London?

This Saturday sees another Wang party in Hackney, bringing some damn fine electro/techno sounds to your ears in a laid-back environment. Rare survivors of the free-party explosion of the nineties, the Wang crew have been found at a selection of different venues around London, taking pride in finding great locations where people can enjoy themselves without having to deal with moody bouncers, ridiculous bar prices and scarf-wearing scenesters. Their last party had Squarepusher doing a one-off tour through his record collection with a fantastic old-skool acid, hardcore and jungle DJ set. On Saturday (June 3) you can see Bolz Bolz (pictured right rocking a Wang party) doing a DJ set (to complement his stomping live set last time around) as well as a Metroline Records showcase, bringing top-class Italian minimal techno over in the shape of Raw, Phiorio and Andrea Kalenda DJing. Along with the residents Electro Elvis + Lula and George 'Skull' Hull, it should be a cracking party in a former pub in Hackney. With an ever-friendly crowd of regulars, if you fancy some partying without the hassle you'll be hard pushed to find something better than Wang.

Some good online tutorials

For any budding producers out there - SB+B has happened across a really useful set of video tutorials covering every aspect of creating a hard techno tune. The tutors, Joseph Cornwell and Dave Braidy, are technicians at the Museum of Techno, an institution dealing with the integral part techno has had to play in the evolution of music, and housing the most complete collection of kick drums dating back to the nineteenth century. Their brusque delivery may take a little getting used to, but the deep knowledge both Cornwell and Braidy have of techno production will soon translate to you producing your own sounds...


...either that or you'll end up hooked on Sherry. Go to the technical department on the site to find the videos.

Ready to get dirty?

Judging by the last Ammunition night two years ago, this will be an unmissable event. Housed in the charmingly grimey network of tunnels and rooms that is the Electrowerkz in Angel, London, an all-star line-up sees the dubstep, breakcore and general dirty styles of Planet-Mu rinsed out until the early hours.

The SB+B pick of the bunch is label don µ-Ziq, whose last LP 'Bilious Paths' is possibly the ultimate soundtrack to raves, with a blistering assault of breaks, jungle and hardcore sewn together with a rich melodic palette of sounds - essential stuff.

Vibert will obviously be a safe bet, and hopefully we can enjoy some sneaky-peeks at his new material (see below), and no doubt breakcore king Venetian Snares will piledrive pneumatic drills into everyone's ear drums. Following his awesome grime set at the Warp records Xmas party last year, Milanese should be right at home amongst the Mu stable's urban aesthetic. With a slew of other Mu bad-boys on the bill, it looks set to be a corker. Cocked, locked, and ready to rock...

Are you feeling the vibe(rt)?

Electronica's ultimate jack of all trades, Luke Vibert, is issuing forth a whole host of tasty treats over the next few months, so it only seems right to bring y'all up to speed.

Following in the tradition of his alter-egos such as Wagon Christ, a new Vibert name crops up with the Sidthug EP. Spac Hand Luke (politically incorrect? who knows?) may be a grimier style for the Cornish lad but it's still classic Vibert, layering up loopy samples over relentless acid-lines and filthy, filthy bass. It seems more targeted at the dancefloor, hiting the 140 bpm confidently and ensuring all manner of dodgy shapes to be thrown at his upcoming shows. It's out on Rephlex on 12" as of Monday, and you can hear samples and order it from excellent online record store Boomkat right now!

Also out on Rephlex, although shrouded in a bit more mystery, is the Amen Andrews vs. Spac Hand Luke. Obviously Spac Hand Luke is Senor Vibert's new pseudonym, and Amen Andrews is the name he used to put out a series of seriously sick drum n bass 12"s a couple of years ago, so here's hoping for some classy filth in all the dark corners of electronic music. Details of when it will drop are sketchy, although Tesco (of all places) list the release date as June 26. The tracklisting looks pretty hot as well:

1. London
2. Like A Machine
3. Intelligent
4. Grime 2 Dark
5. Multiple Stab Wounds
6. Grave
7. Amen Andrews
8. Junglism
9. Play
10. Shot Killer Pussy
11. Screwface
12. Barrave
13. Murder

Keeping on the Rephlex tip, the eagerly-anticipated Kerrier District 2 should be coming out at some point. All we know at this stage is that it will feature a Ceephax remix, which seems a little bizarre considering Luke's smooth, funky and all-round nice disco grooves under the KD name are a world away from Ceephax's frenetic Essex 'ardkore stylings, but then again the younger brother of Tom 'Squarepusher' Jenkinson is secretly a production whizz behind all the comedy performances, so fingers crossed for a cracking collision of sound.

Possibly the most exciting release is the barely mentioned Here It Comes EP under the Plug name. Some of Luke's earliest releases were as Plug, dealing with the earliest forms of drum n bass and jungle with his trademark West-country mad twist. Rewind Records, home to jungle revivalists Soundmurderer & SK1, are releasing this 4-track EP of unheard Plug tracks dating back ten years. No date is confirmed as yet, but this should have the old-skoolers jumping for joy (if they still have use of their limbs in the post-rave years?) You'd best save up the pennies, 'cause the Vibert influx is here.

Gladeness and ting...

The third Glade festival is taking place this July somewhere in Berkshire. Evolving from the Glade stage at Glastonbury, this is the ultimate British festival for anyone looking for the finest electronic music in a smattering of tents surrounded by mud and dreadlocks. Dedicated electronica, breaks and psy-trance stages operate across the three days, with a whole host of other marginal music forms popping up in little tents all over the place.

The festival organisers aren't releasing the official line-up but after hunting down the artists that have already confirmed their appearances, here's the acts that you can find Squeaks Bleeps & Beats dancing like a loon to:

!!! (pictured right) for trippy post-punk/funk that leans heavily on bongos, cowbells and slappy basslines.

B12 for some classic early-Warp records techno - lots of layers of lush synths and Detroit soul.

Ceephax for low-budget erratic acid, hardcore, jungle and tv themes joyfully mashed together.

Hellfish & Producer - brutal-as-you-like hard/breakcore, a pick for AFX DJ sets and feeling your brain dragged through a meat grinder.

Jackson and his Computer Band - Choppy electro, hip-hop and pop collide in one of Warp's hottest signings of late.

Jamie Lidell - the new Soul godfather? Expect live beat-box sample trickery mixed with smooth vocals for a crazy, feel-good experience.

Modeselektor - mad-as-a-badger German techno that hits hard in all the right places.

Plump DJs - the breakbeat dons spinning their chunky rhythms and porky basslines.

Tim Exile - Planet Mu stalwart who plays A.D.D fuelled breakcore and jungle with a parrot on his shoulder.

Promising a down to earth vibe and lots of hidden surprises (look out for the IDSpiral ambient dome - always a 6 am favourite), this year looks set to be a classic on the increasingly cluttered summer festival roster. Now all we have to do is worry about the weather...