- Amsterdam's Leyla Records hammers modern industrial techno into a variety of forms. This year the label has released a series of compilations, starting with the two-part Parallels & Influence EPs. Now there's Directed By Sacrifice, another expansive release featuring three artists making their debut on Leyla, plus a delirious banger from the label boss Chafik Chennouf.
Experimental sound design is one of Lucy's fortes, and on "Group Format 5Fg" intriguing sonic details hunker down into a propulsive club frame. It's a track with dual appeal—one that you can step back from and enjoy the craftsmanship, or launch without hesitation on the dance floor. Chennouf wields a hard kick and distorted sounds with a more immediate effect on "Saturn Matrix," while Katsunori Sawa and Yuji Kondo's offering as Steven Porter, "Octahedron," retreats to techno's psychedelic peripheries. Dave Foster and Richard Oddie have released precious few tracks in their Ontario Hospital guise, but when they land—brace yourself. "Worthless Scam" is the gruesome highlight with its manic corkscrewing rhythms that drive you deeper into O/H's twisted maelstrom.
TracklistA1 Lucy - Group Format 5Fg
A2 O/H - Worthless Scam
B1 Chafik Chennouf - Saturn Matrix
B2 Steven Porter - Octahedron