Token Belgium Vinyl & CDs

Review: For our money, Luke Slater does his best work as Planetary Assault Systems. The iconic British producer now returns with his first album since 2016 and it is brimming with new material. Some of the tracks have been crafted in the audio, others are works taken from his live show as PAS, all of it is mind-melting minimal techno from another dimension, as per usual. There is a real focus on the dance floor here as soft hits, harmonic bells, warped synths all warp and weft their way around the rubbery, pulsing grooves. Of course, plenty of psychedelic colours help define this most stylish of records.

Review: Hot on the heels of his full-length LP 'Sky Scraping', Luke Slater is back as Planetary Assault Systems with one of the albums key tracks 'Devotion', which wasn't included on the 2LP. Truncate steps in for a hard hitting remix on A2, while Slater provides a new exclusive hypnotic track 'Eden Tide' as B1. Barker then closes out the record with a meditative eye closer to smooth the edges of a rougher record.

Review: Up next on Token Records is Kr!z for his first release on the label since his acclaimed 'Atlantis' EP late last year. Keeping his sound pure, Kr!z presents a cohesive collection of decisive tracks for 'Marbles', his third release of 2023. Four loopy-bloopy sequences, the likes of 'Delirium' and 'Surge' are functional and floor-ready tracks; mathematical mind-melters for the bleep-primed.

Review: For their next voyage into the peak time techno dimension, Token welcome Altinbas for a swift follow-up to the Illumination 12" from earlier this year. This four-tracker is brimming with tension and invention as the Brussels-based producer brings some deft programming flair to classic 909 drum sounds. 'Presence' has an atmospheric, dubby mood thanks to its reverb drenched synth blooms, but 'Spoken Word' shifts the focus onto the rhythms and keeps the energy up with dynamic switches between formations of vintage percussion. 'Spirit Moves' has a little Robert Hood-flavoured paranoia in its synth line, and 'Blue Lace' brings the record full circle with a spacious cut that lets the melodic elements lead, albeit still strapped to some of those incisive beats.

Review: Jeroen Search has got a signature sound that is all about stripped down techno to its bare components and layering them up into minimal productions that come alive with wiry synths and plenty of FX. 'Light Spinner' opens up here with a real sense of paranoia in the bleeping sonar pulse and twisted drums. 'Six Requests' is even quicker and more direct with its oversized hi-hats and malfunctioning synth circuitry. Two flip side cuts bring mind melting acid manipulations and dubbed-out, low key and linear techno workouts. An essential outing as ever from the always fresh studio of Search.