Digging through the dread: Techstep

A dabble into dance music's most atmospherically bleak genre.

Dec 10, 2025

As always YouTube Playlist ere and the Discogs List ere.

The mid-90s were undoubtedly one of the most inventive times for dance music, particularly in the realm of Drum n Bass, where many present at the time recount the excitement and anticipation of attending nights each week to witness new ideas and innovations being played out in front of them.

It was an exciting, explosive and rare convergence of musical influence, drawing from a rich diaspora of sounds. The echo of Jamaican dub & reggae, the syncopation of hip hop’s breakbeat culture, the fusion of techno from Detroit & Belgium and the improvisation of Jazz. I don’t want to be one of those lamewads that harp on about a time they wish they were present for, but it sounds pretty fucking sick to me.

However, it was the No-U-Turn studio, a small storage unit inside a Victorian warehouse in West London, where the genesis of a new mutation of the sound would spawn. Together, Nico Sykes, DJ Trace and Ed Rush would make an indelible mark on the scene by creating something that felt out of this world.

Armed with Cubase software, an Akai S1000, a handful of FX units, keyboard, a mixing desk, an Atari computer and vitally: enough weed to put themselves into a zombie-like state, they would begin spawning the sound of Techstep. Typified by uneasy atmospheres, dense swirling distortion and monolithic bass notes. They created dystopian landscapes with clips from sci-fi films like Predator, Terminator & Blade Runner. This “gloomcore”, as Simon Reynolds described harshly contrasted the more mellow and ambient feel of its contemporaries at the time and fostered sounds and styles that would reign over the genre for years to come.

Dark, overwhelming and abrasive. Techstep, in many ways, is an appropriate soundtrack for all our current anxieties. As the world around us becomes increasingly authoritarian, the emergence of technocratic overlords who speak freely about the potential extinction of humanity and our deepening dependence on technology to survive in our day-to-day lives, thirty years ago, what felt like a faraway reality seems eerily prescient.

So often, the dancefloor is seen as a form of escapism against this. It feels as if Techstep runs almost counter to this idea. Belonging in its own world: not one of escapism, but rather dance music nihilism. The resistance lies in facing imminent darkness head-on.

Like the rhythm of our restless life and the technological world we live in. Rapidly evolving technologies present themselves as a new religion and it creates fear, it makes you feel lost.
Nico Sykes (comfortably the godfather of Techstep and man who unsurprisingly has smoked a lot of weed)

Mod Magazine would perfectly describe it in 1996 as: ‘an interface between terror and bliss.’ I am still hooked on the feeling of hearing it in a warehouse in the early hours of the morning, which I would only describe as being most closely related to stretching out the sensation of looking over the edge on top of a tall building when you’re terrified of heights. A manifestation of your recurring nightmares of buildings collapsing and the sky falling around you, but instead of being crippled by the fear, you’re left moving under its spell - the combination of fight, flight and freeze.

Despite the atmosphere it conjures, Techstep isn’t focused on sound design and super-detailed composition; it was built on refining its components into a brooding and frigid universe. Nico (who engineered most of the early releases) utilised pedals in the way that guitarists like Jimi Hendrix and bass player Larry Graham used to stretch sounds and drag out noises to instil a palpable sense of dread. Whilst others focused on adding more complexity with intricate harmonies and chopped up amen breaks, the reductionism and sparse gaps within these tracks add to the character, leaving a little room to move in the void of despair. The spaces echo an industrialised, soulless robotic existence which beams these transmissions from somewhere in the future.

Enduring Futurism

As the 2000s came, the genre would generally start to take a turn towards (again to lazily nab a Simon Reynolds phrase) ‘fruitless intensification’ - everything getting quicker, harder and more ‘in your face’ (see clownstep) without evoking a deeper response. This was also the advent of production becoming super technical and polished. With dance music being picked up by major labels and tracks being operated on in bigger studios, in turn, catering to bigger, broader audiences and stages.

Yet, the classics of the era still sound as fresh and futuristic today. The beauty is that it’s truly at its best when it feels raw, rough, lumbered and fatigued - like those hearing it with heavy feet from a long period of dancing.

Drum’n’Bass would also splinter off into various tagents, all undoubtedly influencing each other along the way: Drumfunk, Neurofunk, Liquid, etc. I’ve seen a handful of people claim that Optical and Ed Rush’s 1998 Wormhole album marked the death of the Jungle & DnB genre - stripping away any references to Ragga, R&B, house, anything remotely soulful in exchange for the coldness of tortured machinery.

Where the usage of a dancehall or a hip-hop sample may unintentionally act a little like a timestamp for the tracks that used them, the various references from sci-fi films are almost always taken from a reality in the future. With artists and track names enhancing the theme: Dune, Machines, Cybertron, Mutant, Raven, Neotech, Genetix, Cybernet, Sightings, Decoder, Sonar, Replicant, Source Direct… you get the picture. Back at a time when social media wasn’t around to uncover the identity of these producers, the titles only enhanced the mystique of the universe-building.

It’s interesting as someone pointed out on Dissensus that for Basic Unit’s Timeline album Mixmag back in 1998 would describe it as “unlistenable”, saying that it “might make sense in 50 years time”. Whether they were anticipating the post-apocalyptic themes that unpin a lot of the sound or they just couldn’t comprehend it, remains to be seen. It seems Sneaker Social Club, who repressed it a few months ago, have managed to ‘get it’ in just over half that time.

Human sacrifice for sound

“We used to hide away in the studio for three days straight and come out of there dying.”

Ed Rush on No-U-Turn production sessions

90s Drum n Bass was said to be all about utilising equipment past its limitations - pushing hardware to its maximum pressure in order to squeeze out the noise. However, there’s a sense that the creators themselves also suffered somewhat as a result of it.

Picture above of the famous No-U-Turn studio - this looks like the type of image I’d sneak a look at in the middle of my Mum’s books about serial killers.

Nico said: “I really think I can get it darker and nastier for them... but I don’t enjoy the process of being in the studio and actually making it, because it gets just too intense!” There was a particular place their psyche needed to be in to endure these brutalising and loud sessions. A dark headspace to channel this mood effectively. They would smoke enough skunk to get into the paranoid and anxious state that would translate into the music. This is almost the embodiment of the ‘Mind Uploading’ motif from many Sci-Fi stories. DJ Trace would recall pacing around the room, demanding “we need to make it darker!” and that “we smoked so much - it felt like we were IN Blade Runner”. This masochism wasn’t just mental, either - as I have read before, that Optical would give himself considerable tinnitus in producing tracks for Wormhole.

Charmingly, adding to this are the interchangeable stories about the creators of particular output. Who had worked on or ideaised which part of the tracks? Reading and listening to a lot of interviews in the last couple of weeks, it seems a few things run contrary to what another person might have said (and often even themselves previously). However, there seems to be no ego or malice in this, which can only lead you to the conclusion that, in their intensely inebriated states, they might not even have been truly aware at the time.

The selections

It seems quite easy to engage in somewhat of a style/genre naming since there was so much cross-pollination at the time. I'm highlighting my own ignorance (which, to be honest, is more to the benefit of more enjoyment) of a lot of Drum n’ Bass since it’s only really the 90s I’ve ever engaged with, and even with that, I can’t claim much empirical evidence. Short of spending countless hours digging for records and scanning forums. Was I even there? Absolutely not. I was watching Thunderbirds and necking Nesquik.

However, I think there is probably a strict definition of true techstep from this era. Which, in the grand scheme of an entire genre, makes it really feel like lightning in a bottle. The time it was most prevalent was the 95’-00’ era from the DJ Trace Mutant Remix through to Tech Itch’s ‘Diagnostics’ (and this could be somewhat of a stretch), but it can be agreed upon that this was the golden age for the sound.

This is not to say its haunting beauty didn’t survive and still exists today, which I also wanted to point towards.

So ultimately, what was my criteria for the selections below?

I’ve checked the tracklists of DJ Trace’s Origins of Techstep series (linked at the end) and tried to avoid these and incorporate ones that I feel should be looked at (or revisited if you’re a fan yourself). If you’re also into collecting this, there’s a link at the bottom to an excellent list on Discogs of more affordable (for the time being) records.

Then, a tune or two, I just wanted to fawn over to help highlight why I fell in love with the sound so much and some more recent productions that maybe have Techstep at its heart.

Artefacts from the future - Techstep selections:

DJ SS - White (Technical Itch Remix) (1997) [Formation Records]

This one is on Formation Records’ United Colours of Drum n Bass compilation, which initially, I assumed was a bad pressing, making some of the features in these songs sound a little bit like they were in the distance. Yet when I listened to the full mix online, it was clearly purposeful. Putting the breaks into the background creates this amazing tension where traditionally in Jungle they had featured front and centre. Whether it was just to remove some of the harshness or add atmosphere, it certainly achieves the latter. Conjuring up the sound of droning echoes from machinery in an empty warehouse. While the bleeping, scanning noise feels like drones searching through rubble.

Ed Rush & Nico - Technology (Boymerang Remix) (1997) [No-U-Turn]

I appreciate that anyone who likes 90s Drum N Bass will be bewildered that this is included if you came the deeper cuts, but I cannot describe how much I love this tune and how often I return to it. I really don’t feel like there’s been anything like it since.

The absolutely massive breakdown - and the rattling mechanical drums almost move across your body by the end of each phase. As one person on Discogs describes: “conjured up images of huge robots/mechs battling each other in a nuclear scarred wasteland”. It has the most beautiful intensity I’ve ever heard in a song.

Innvisions - In The Shadow (1996) [Reinforced Records]

One from a big label and probably not unbeknownst to any discerning 90s DnB fan - Innervisions, a J Malik alias, and it seems a good selection outside of the realms of the No-U-Turn crew. The tracing crackle of the snares, the subtle bassline that comes in around the 2-minute mark, before these trickling and fading keys, makes for such an atmospheric few minutes. A truly measured tension without ever fully breaking down. As if terror is around the corner or slowly creeping up on you.

Oblique - Heliophobic (1996) [Nocturnal]

Unfortunately, a tragic story behind this one. Producer Mark Hensel passed due to a solo car accident aged 19. He had been struggling with addiction and tinnitus, creating these tracks at home as part of an album, and becoming more withdrawn in the process. The rest were never published, but the three tracks on this EP are atmospheric and ultra dark.

While there are at times comments about Techstep’s repetition and length, this track flickers through a journey of harsh amen breaks and respites of nightmarish atmospheres. It might not have the more typical bounce, but it feels bleak and futuristic.

Chaos & Julia Set - First Generation (The Original Raw Lab Mix) (1997) [Evolution]

I’m just always amazed at the breadth of Mark Pritchard’s productions. So I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to include him in here, especially since he’s really captured the style and the sound well. As the full quote in the song goes:

We’re the first generation who has learned to fight. There simply is no other way.. either you’re for us or you’re against us.

So while it’s typical of Techstep to be focused on confusion and a lack of hope, this one has a bit more of a positive sci-fi reference - see! It’s not all doom and gloom out there. If you are feeling brave enough for a heavier version, then Dylan’s remix of this track is horrid in the best way. Maybe sit down for that one.

Exocet - Demon Seed (1996) [Dirty Mac]

Although not typically a feature for most of these tracks, the melody is really what shines through in this one. It isn’t necessarily harsh, but it’s got all the stripped-back components of the sound. Complete and utter deepness. This is the track I’d say has the most sonic connection between Detroit Techno and Techstep. It’s really tough to articulate any further, but I do have a nice pun - Hi Tech(step) Soul.

*(in reference to the documentary about Detroit Techno called ‘Hi Tech Soul’).

…the jokes are always better when you have to explain them.

DJ. Matsuoka’s Modern Conception - Crazy Twisted Dragon (1997) [Styling Records]

Always interested in how other scenes interpret a style or genre. This one is from Japan, again demonstrating how a few people off their bonnet messing around with equipment in a small room can result in igniting inspiration from afar. Naruhisa Matsuoka has a few other productions at the 160bpm range, but these are jazzy numbers, so it’s interesting to see how the sound had producers in the mid-90s reaching into their inner darkness.

The Caretaker - Darkskies (1997) [Flow]

Over to Holland for this one. I think this may be the pick of the bunch. Made by the hugely influential Dylan Hermelijn (2000 & One) and Gert-Jan Schonewille (DJ Madskillz), who together (I believe?) worked as Mindscape and Edge of Motion, producing beautiful Detroit-influenced techno in the early 90s.

I can’t speak highly enough of both sides of this record, which both have long atmospheric intros. The siren noises creeping in here give you the feeling that there’s some sort of intense space battle taking place in the distance. A dazzling and unrelenting amount of dread throughout.

Pancaea - Jacob’s Ladder (1997) [Position Chrome]

Over to Germany and the tour for the big Techstep album ‘Torque’ in Europe had a few stops there, and from the number of artists in this realm from the country, it seemed to have left an impact. Nico recounts how the walls were dripping with sweat by the end of the night. Much like Holland, it follows with the prevalence of hardcore techno and gabber that these scenes could be nudged towards something heavy but less… chaotic(?). This one by Panacea - a producer who studied classical music and was in a boys choir and later made some of the harshest sounding Techstep at the height of its glory.

Futureboi - Alien Hunt (1997) [Don Q Records]

Another saunter into Germany’s offerings and you have an excellent overlooked compilation of DnB on the Don Q Records label. The B side of this and the remixes are worth checking out, too.

Along with its synthesised elements, I really love the guitar riff-esqe sound tearing through it - it feels a lot like the start of “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath if you ask me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ One for a later post that. Still, the artist's name and title are a bit simpler and playful than usual, which I like.

Can - Unfinished (Hiller / Kaiser / Leda Mix) (1997) [Spoon Records]

Holger Czukay would say “restriction is the mother of invention” and that fits in very well with the approach of many DnB artists at the time. So, it felt fitting to include a remix of Can on this list. Harking back to artists who didn’t typically operate in this realm, from the three names involved: There’s little of Leda online, Hiller was the singer in the new wave band ‘Palais Schaumburg’, and Kaiser worked (and still does so) on German film scores and commercials.

Even though the sound was completely in vogue at the time, it shows producers from such different areas of music accessing this uncharacteristic heaviness. Always nice when something feels a little more accessible in that sense. You just need to get a bit dark with your mates for a few hours.

1.8.7 - Defcon 1 (1997) [Jungle Sky]

Stalwart of the scene DJ Trace moved to Miami for a while, seeing the opportunity for the music over there, and there are plenty of stories of areas like Chicago having a massive reaction to the scene when he first played his Mutant remix. Although some may still hurt from what that country did to Dubstep the US had a lot of very interesting interpretations and expansions on Techstep sound.

This one, produced by the artist now known as Jordana, was named as one of the 20 most influential female producers in dance music history by Mixmag.

E-Sassin - Nightrider (1997) [Sound Sphere Recordings]

As I’m informed from a lengthy Discogs comment, the track that put Drum n Bass on the map on the West Coast in the 90s. You can really see why. With many of these tracks making you envisage various scenes from sci-fi films, this one would undoubtedly be the soundtrack to being in the middle of the hive mind of the machines.

I think even the most discerning ear would struggle to differentiate this against something created 25 years later if listening side by side and trying to determine which is more recent.

Mike Parker - Make It Up (1997) [Defective Records]

Going to give Mike Parker a little callout here as his more recent takes on DnB for the Spazio Disponible and Samurai labels are incredible. His ability to fuse the sound with Techno is pretty enduring and a nice continuation of the Detroit/Belgian influence on Techstep. This was his first production in the genre in 1997, and it’s undoubtedly clear where the influence comes from. Even if it feels more towards the rumbling jungle side of the sound, the sirens and the minimal ambience are Techstep to the core. Something he’s only developed upon since.

Skynet - MK Ultra (1997) [Audio Blueprint]

Maximum points for artist name and title here. Skynet, being the fictional artificial intelligence agency from the Terminator series, and MK Ultra, the illegal experiments conducted by the CIA on universities, hospitals and thousands of unaware participants around mind control in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Future dystopian overlords and governmental brainwashing? Hook it in my veins. That’s the heavy stuff.

Yeah, tune pretty decent as well. It was a toss-up between this and the more experimental-sounding ‘HAL’ on Audio Blueprint, but this was a bit more in the dreary category.

Boymerang - Still (Dom & Roland V.I.P. Mix) [Prototype Recordings] (1997)

Quite a big one, but the last track on the compilation that many have said to have ‘legitimised’ Techstep with Grooverider’s approval. But while we’re on the topic of conspiracy theories, my favourite is in the niche of middle-aged DJ / producer social media accounts. Dom & Roland, just seems like a lovely bloke who loves mountain biking and his kids, as well as the occasional observation:

Makes ya think. Can’t be too mad at him though; easily an all-time greatest producer in this genre. This one, if I recall, is only available digitally (unless you want to fork out for an acetate). But dear God Jane. What a colossal sound. Those hissing snares are perfection.

I could easily write a whole post on his album Industry on Moving Shadow, because it is incredible, but also honourable mentions to Sublogics - Logic (Dom & Roland Remix) and Il’s & Solo - Frozen (Dom & Roland Remix).

Espiritu - Baby I Wanna Live (Monkey Mafia Terminal Mix) (1997) [Heavenly]

There’s a remarkable amount of amen-break chaos in this to really qualify as a fully-fledged Techstep tune, but I think this one is interesting to include since it shows really how much the sound had permeated the rest of the scene by 1997. Monkey Mafia, who was typically a downtempo/big beat producer, seemed to pull this one out of nowhere.

Though it has the essence of jump-up, there’s enough rigid roboticism in there to be included. With gun-spray amen noises at the end of a long, building intro and transforming the vocals into something so haunting, all before it crashes into complete chaos. Ironically, it’s on a label called Heavenly, as it’s pretty hellish at times. 😈👉👉

Kapricorn - The Gate (1997) [Urban Flavour Records]

Between possessing an almost comically cliché name and the variety of tracks within it, I always look out for the Urban Flavour Records label when digging. This one, as one astute Discogs commenter points out, borrows the drums from Doc Scott’s ‘Shadow Boxing’ smasher and a few quite typical techstep samples. Makes zero difference, though, since the outcome is pretty tasty. It could, however, do with slowing down for full effect.

Sun Electric - Eya (Future Forces Inc. Hardware Mix) (1997) [Apollo]

A lot to write about this one - Future Forces Inc being the combination of Jason Maldini (sick 90s surname) and Darren White AKA DBridge, who those familiar with will know that he would later found the crucial Autonomic Podcast with Instra:mental. A lot of the minimal feel this and the Exit label he would later set up has its ties to the effective simplicity of really great Techstep tracks. You can also find a decent mix he did with lots of Techstep for RBMA at the bottom of this article.

This track an early remix on R&S, which also has some other amazing interpretations by Green Velvet and Thomas Fehlmann.

This YouTube account, though, is really something special. Gilius 2k15, who, between uploading videos of Table Tennis Tournaments, Soulcalibur and Tekken matches, shots of Tourism in London(?), has also put together a pretty great trove of Techstep, Neurofunk and DnB videos. Pretty wholesome stuff.

N.T.T. - Mars (1997) [Integral Recordings]

Nothing more interesting in my tragic little Discogs holes than discovering hidden aliases. Tony Thomas, who had his fingers in a lot of different genre pies, might be familiar to some as The Producers. Quite the novelty to hear such a piece of intricately produced music from someone who churned out pretty paint-by-numbers big room house (no offence to all his other work).

‘Mars’ sits on a very strangely named ‘Bad Strawberry’ EP. I guess rotten fruit is sort of dystopian…? More Victorian era… but still… this track leans into an ‘out-of-this-world’ theme. It’s tucked away on a pretty obscure label, ‘Integral Recordings’, which has some very sick artwork:

N.T.T. – Bad Strawberry E.P. – Vinyl (12", 33 ⅓ RPM, EP), 1997 [r119528] | Discogs

Hopa & Bones & DJ Phantasy - The Crow (Stakka & Skynet Electronic Dub Mix) (1999) [Easy Records]

Not enough DJs involved in this one, I don’t think.

As I mentioned, some of the soul of techstep gets lost as it gets faster and more aggressive in the late 90s and early 00s. I wanted to give a nod to a tune that really manages to maintain the sound whilst increasing the speed - with a futuristic scatter and a synthy bassline that’s almost electro in its wiggle.

Techstep that bounces.

Cyba Space - Search For Me (Dillinja’s Mix) (1999)

Not for a second would I miss Dillinja off the list, and this one, though probably not his strongest (he sets himself a pretty high standard) is worth a revisit. This I feel, speaks to the untapped potential in having more soulful, feminine vocals to ease out or contrast the grittiness of the genre. Perhaps in the way Tricky or Massive Attack were doing around that time to great effect.

Maybe there are examples of this I haven’t uncovered, but another track on a similar note with a vocal is Matrix & Dilema’s Spring Box Remix. EBTG’s remix by Spring Heel Jack... ish. If there are any more you know of, please let ya boi know.

N.O.H.A. - Start (Optical Remix) (1997) [Motor Music]

The creator of absolute classics on many of the big-time labels, Optical would go on to create Virus recordings, taking the Techstep sound even further afield into the 00s, as well as (for better or worse) being instrumental in developing Neurofunk. This one has the type of long, brooding intro that was noted for going down a storm at the famous Blue Note sessions. Here, you can start to hear the bass notes feel a bit more melodic, an early insight into the style he would hone, perhaps. For the more rolling and harsher productions, a big shout-out to his remix of Dub Me Crazy by Boom Boom Satellites.

DJ Shuriken - Countdown Commencing (2000) [Central Intelligence Records]

It is a big one for me to find Techstep that I enjoy post-1999. I’ll happily dabble in some of the funkier, heavier stuff, but by the time Andy C had done his Breezeblock mix in 1999, personally, everything feels way too heavy, overbearing and fast. However, now and then, you can stumble upon something which does the sound justice. This manages to anchor itself with a dingy and dragging bassline that keeps this sluggish rumble, which would fit alongside earlier productions.

Central Intelligence - first two letters of the acronym for the CI… Ahhhh, they know what they’re doing.

The Advocate - Presumed Guilty (Remix) [Criminal Communications] (2000)

This one on Criminal Communications has a felonious rating of 3.6 on Discogs. 👮Another one from the same year with really intricate details that manages to keep the coldness of the style intact.

The advocate is possibly one of the most underrated producers, with all his work on this label being some of the finest stuff from the era that you rarely see mentioned in threads and lists. This atmospheric number is also a thing of real beauty.

Saburuko - Warped - Instra:mental Remix (2008) [Horizons Music]

If 90s Techstep was the fall of the world into a dystopian hellscape, then you might credit DBridge and Instra:mental for being crucial to the sound that pieced it back together. Rebuilding with the same simple structures with more measured expeditions in both halftime and at 140. You might reconcile with the idea of the effect of gradually bringing the world back together and ‘up to speed’.

Strange half-baked analogy aside - this isn’t to say they aren’t capable of darkness, their first production was with sinister salwart Source Direct (the shrewdly titled ‘Yo Bitch!’) on the ‘Demonic’ label, and I initially wanted to go with ‘Rogue’ on Darkestral. So yeah, they’ve got it in them.

However, this, in its approach, feels as if it’s borrowing from sound but, inversely, one which feels hopeful in its spirit (I appreciate I seem to be becoming more cryptic as this piece goes on). Also, to call out ‘Pacific Heights’ and their remix of Commix’s Japanese Electronics, which also feel very close to this.

Marcus Intalex feat Lynx - Stingray (2016) [Soul:r]

Marcus Intalex, although famous for Liquid (which has always felt like the antithesis of Techstep to me), actually first released a tune called “Plastic” on Renegade Hardware, which is very steppy and remarkably techy. And, as I keep attesting to, I am admittedly pretty out of my depth when it comes to tunes from this era. It feels like there are some nice motifs here continuing the infection of the dread alive.

Listening back to it again, it actually sounds suspiciously like Demon Seed above, leaving you to wonder if there was some influence.

Tim Reaper - Something Unreal (2014) [117 Audio]

I couldn’t in all good conscience not give a nod to the more modern producers who are birthing a whole new scene and keeping the original sounds alive. The use of Main Ingredient’s ‘Something Unreal’ vocal as a nice nod to something inhuman or out of this world.

Tim Reaper also recently published some new material with a brave and vulnerable blurb that’s really touched me, so go give him some appreciation and love. He’s a body of incredible work.

Sim Hutchins - Some Men (You) Just Want to Watch the World Burn (2017) [UIQ]

Again, between the early 00s and now, there are probably a few hundred other tracks to go through, and I’ll reserve that for more research/posts in the future, but I think of this one existing as a sort of ‘chopped and screwed’ Techstep. With all the atmospheric hallmarks - very moody and building, but not quite coming to the surface. Probably a decent way to start a set. I’ve also linked a Sim Hutchins article below, where he detailed his favourites from the genre with some lovely anecdotes.

To Conclude. A Techstep too far…

I am trying to publish once a week, and it has been over a month since which I swore to myself I wouldn’t do. It turns out this really dark music can have quite the effect on you when you drown yourself in it. Sort of grappling with a very, very mild version of the experience that those No-U-Turn boys were getting into. Not that I would ever have the patience or concentration to make these tracks. Plus, smoking puts me to sleep after making me fixate on whether my hands have grown in size in the past half an hour. I wouldn’t last a second in that studio.

Given its sullen mood, bleakness and subject matter, as it turns out, it is better consumed when your mental health is in a much more stable place. So much for my comments about nihilism and acceptance as a form of resistance; this became a surprisingly difficult undertaking in the end, and one I was avoiding at times through feeling a bit exhausted in general. So, it seems I’ll be putting up a little fight when the robots take over.

Do I still love it? Absolutely. Maybe Tech-a-step back, you say? No way.

The pressing issue is that I also need about €100 to buy all the records I’ve added to my basket. So if you want to…

Buy me a “coffee” ☕ even though caffeine sends me west, I might actually feel compelled to buy one and compromise another needlessly long post of tunes.

Do tuck into the below as well.