REVIEWS – Mark Neenan – Techno/Acid –

Welcome to my Techno review corner of Zone magazine. I’ve been a DJ and producer for nearly 30 years, driven by a deep passion for all shades of techno, while still holding love for breaks, electro, acid and old school sounds.

Along the way, I’ve launched the digital label Filth Infatuated (which hit its 100th release last year), co run unforgettable parties with my good friend MC DJ Ribbz, and held residencies with the amazing Collide and my Filthcast radio show is now on DI.FM, one of the longest-running global techno stations, after a great run of 8 years on the wicked Fnoob station (RIP).

From underground raves to major UK festivals, Amsterdam to Warsaw, I’ve lived and breathed the scene, and this page is where I share that same energy through music reviews.

Submissions – markneenanpromos@gmail.com

10/10 – TOP RELEASE –

FRAZI.ER – VOICES FROM THE VOID [PERC TRAX]

I have been playing lots of Scotland’s Frazi.er over the last year or so, with notable releases on Mutual Rytm, Crisis Of Man and henry’s awesome Hydraulix imprint.

His latest cut, ‘Voices From The Void’ has certainly got me excited. Just the one track as it’s part of Perc’s One Track Series (Other notable releases this year have been by Redhead, Luciano Esse & The Obsessed) ‘Voices From The Void’ is a driving slice of forward thinking techno. It rolls with a deep, analogue groove – warm bass, flickering drones, and warped FX weaving through a tense, futuristic atmosphere. It’s tough and hypnotic and certainly built for dark rooms and big systems, pushing Frazi.er’s sound further into the future.

Driving, futuristic and Frazi.er’s best work to date.

10/10 – RECOMMENDED RELEASE

IMOGEN & BEN PEST – HELLANGEL EP [WIGS 003]

The new Hellangel EP from two of my favourite artists Imogen & Ben Pest is a huge five track jolt of machine funk and acid grit. It moves between hypnotic techno workouts and raw, broken electro, full of sharp textures and restless energy. The duo’s chemistry is on display throughout – Ben’s modular chaos meeting Imogen’s tight, rhythmic percussion.

Each track pushes forward with purpose, from the futuristic opener ‘Pulsar’ with its nautical bleeps, warm hypnotic bass and driving techno energy, to the heavy broken electro & searing acid of ‘Captain Crunch VIP’ These 5 jams are tough, physical, and built for big systems, Hellangel is the real deal!

I Must give props to Ben Pest who came down to play at a Filth Infatuated party In Taunton just last week for Sean (Ribbz) and I and absolutely tore the roof off! We must get Imogen involved in the future.

Sweaty, urgent, and impossible to ignore.

9/10 – CALLUM PLANT – AKAI RYU EP [RESILIENT RECORDINGS]

Next up is a fresh release on Eddie Santini’s ace Resilient, brought to you by Manchester legend Callum Plant. Callum serves up 3 fresh techno cuts that show his range. ’Crimson Lure’ glides on deep, rolling grooves and hazy old school pads, ‘Dragon’s Maw’ hits harder with a crisp percussive trip that is laced with zaps, swooshes, and a teasing vocal hook. ‘Bloom Fang’ steals the show for me though, It’s darker, heavier, and ultra modern, charged with squelchy acid that twists beautifully through the mix. Proper late night heads down material.

This EP also features 2 quality remixes. Robert Johnstone delivers a wicked sub heavy and jacking version of ‘Dragon’s Maw’ whilst Swedish techno don Maraxe gives ’Crimson Lure’ a driving tribal workout!

Something for everyone with this Ep. Check it!

8/10 – THE DUTCH EXPERIMENT – DI NIEUWE DANCE SUPERHELDEN

[D-FORCE TECHNO]

Dutch label D-Force techno give us 3 heavy, pounding and acidic cuts here, which is exactly what I was looking for an upcoming gig in Dublin. Title track ‘Di Nieuwe Dance Superhelden’ translates as ‘the new dance superheroes’ and this vocal is mentioned in the breakdown by a sexy sounding female voice along with fills by the same voice stating ‘Hard techno’ This is a heavy opener packed full of slamming kick drums, and angry sub bass, much in the vein of the new modern ‘hard techno’, which is becoming ever more popular with brands like Teletech selling out warehouses around the UK.

The second track is called ‘I Am Great’ and you’ve guessed it, it samples Muhamed Ali’s famous speech and is a heavy, driving modern type of techno track packed full of searing energetic acid and clanking beats.

My pick is the final track ‘This Is A Fucking Game’ which uses vocal samples from the 1992 film ‘My Cousin Vinny’ The squelch on the acid is turned up a notch and the energy on this is immense! Proper driving current acid techno, which is bound to get some serious shapes thrown around the dancefloor!

Current, hard and acidic free party style techno!

9.5/10 – PETRU KSS – KOLIBRI LIVE PART 2 EP [KOLIBRI SPACE SHUTTLE]

Not going to lie, Petru Kss is new to me, why I haven’t heard of him is beyond me after reading the guys big bio. Anyway, in brief he was born in Corsica, resides between London and Barcelona and is a multi talented sound and techno artists. Well, this promo came through and the artwork instantly drew me in, then I saw the calibre of remixes on offer and thought, yep, this is going to be good and I was not wrong!

Not out till mid December (with the full length LP out in early 2026) The second part of ‘Kolibri Live’ delves deep into Petru Kss’s world – intense, atmospheric techno with a strong narrative pull. ‘Ordelion’ burns with hypnotic acid and melodic tension, while ‘Landing’ is an exquisite electronica number that offers release, unfolding into deep, cinematic calm before breaking into glowing bass heavy breakbeats towards the end.

The remixes add extra weight to this already great release. The splendid Arnaud Le Texier injects raw Berlin grit in his tough and relentless rolling remix of ‘Ordelion’, Tobias. Version of said track is a trippy breakbeat rework, and Joton supplies 2 different reshapes of ‘Landing’ with both a tough Detroit tinged version and an excellent broken beat electro remake. Recorded in Corsica and mixed by Hannes Bieger, the LP feels crafted for deep listening and dark rooms alike. It’s worth noting that Petru is opening up a remix contest for this EP in December, so budding producers, keep an eye out for that!

Excellent EP with Huge remixes!

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9/10 – DREXCIYA – FUSION FLATS EP [TRESOR RECORDS]

Buzzing to receive a Tresor records promo in my Inbox and what an EP to receive as Tresor brings back a classic with the first ever reissue of Drexciya’s ‘Fusion Flats’, originally released in 1999, the new edition is freshly remastered, featuring Detroit remixes from Octave One, Kaotic Spatial Rhythms, and 043 Chaos.

The legendary Burden brothers ‘Octave One’ bring the deep Detroit heat with their quality remix, with a lush deep bass machine funk groove. ‘Kaotic Spatial Rhythms’ delve deeper with clanking percussion and a heavy 4/4 groove, whilst still maintaining many of the sounds from the original. ‘043 Chaos’ supplies my personal favourite rejig, a sped up analogue rumbler with hypnotic synth action and plenty of grit!

Twenty five years on, Fusion Flats still sounds futuristic – a vital piece of Drexciya’s deep aquatic mythology.

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8.5/10 – DON’T BLINK – ACTIVATOR [TRUESOUL]

Drumcode’s offshoot label Truesoul supplies us with this modern 2 tracker from the German – Estonian duo Don’t Blink. ‘Activator’ is a turbo charged roller built around playful vocal hooks and surging low end energy for pure late night peak time business. ‘Stimulants’ is the one for me though.

Truesoul are a kind of crossover label in my eye, techno, tech house, dark disco and even trance DJ’s can fit their tracks in and ‘Stimulants’ is no different. It keeps the pressure high with wired vocals and driving percussion, all wrapped in the duo’s slick, high impact happy and hypnotic synth sound full of builds, drops and key changes. Quality production.

Not for the techno purists but a great crossover release non the less.

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9/10 – VARIOUS ARTISTS – GEMS 0.1 [ANALYTIC TRAIL]

Naples legend Mark Antonio curates a big V/A release on his own seminal Analytic trail imprint with sharp snapshot of its current sound. ‘Gems 0.1’ channels the label’s Neapolitan groove into seven powerful techno cuts.

On vinyl, highlights include Human Safari’s percussive ‘Trap Door’, Lysander’s carnival inspired ‘Riot In Rio’ which certainly packs a punch, SYNDROM’S ‘Nikaia Nightfall’ which is one hell of a deep funky workout, and my personal favourite – KLBR’s weighty ‘Thunder Drums’ which is a class piece of chunky hardgroove, with a deep groove fuelled sub bass and packed full of tribal funk alongside Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ vocal sample. Quality gear!

The Digital edition adds 3 bonus tougher, late night workouts from The Groove Room, Cri Du Coeur (The toughest track on the Ep) and Omis (Italy). Functional, hypnotic, and all built for the floor!

This is Analytic Trail at full strength, go grab a copy!

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