October: 17 Techno releases you need to hear this month

Shifted 'Appropriation Stories' (Hospital Productions)

Shifted steals us away from reality and takes us into his darkened cavern, where all manner of clandestine activity takes place. His previous two albums have showcased his ability to inject darkside tropes into his musical structures. ‘Appropriation Stories’ continues this experimentation, giving us 10 tracks that represent a firm and confident approach to techno, which uses subtlety to truly flourish. There’s an elegance about tracks such as ‘Life Backwards’, which has a reversed beat playing at its foundation. Or ‘For Closure’, a moody cut with barely-there percussion and a deathly, ominous atmosphere. The gloom is present across every track, but it matters for a cohesive listen. It makes for a sublime LP that’s also eerie, full of menace and as dark as one could imagine.

8/10