Electro
November: 8 electro releases you need to hear this month
Enter electro
Zeta Reticula 'EP5' (Electrix)
Umek returns to his early 2000s electro moniker, Zeta Reticula, with a new four-track EP. Returning to Billy Nasty’s Electrix label with a handful of cuts that range from ear-bleeding electro to lumbering techno, ‘EP5’ picks up where ‘EP4’ left off back in 2003. ‘Electric Blood Compete’ sees melodies slam into intricate sample work and vocal chops, while ‘Euphonious’ is easier to pin down: an airy cut of progressive electro, its sci-fi melodies rub shoulders with rat-a-tat rave stabs for a more melancholic cut. ‘Encroach’, conversely, is all stodgy techno rhythms and flashy percussion, while ‘Radiate’ goes for a brisker, more techy focus but is weighed down by its choice of synths, which are bleaker than an evening at your local Wetherspoons.
8/10
