VA – Europe Vol. 1 [aurora.]

aurora. is a brand new label from a group of like-minded artists around Europe who look to connect people through techno. The first release is a compilation that presents eight tracks from eight artists in eight different European countries, and three more volumes will follow so that eventually all 28 countries in the EU are represented.

Through its releases, aurora. will explore country- and city-specific techno variations. It will then make bridges between these different creative enclaves, create bonds between artists and listeners and give a voice to the more unknown and unusual scenes out there. This first compilation is a fine way to kick off and a wonderful window into new techno worlds.

The UK opens things up with a track from Hesper Act, a newcomer who is inspired by astronomy. His ‘Babaj66F’ is a fizzing mix of widescreen synthscapes, bubbling melodies and rhythmic ambient that takes you to an uncertain future world where tense leads and pixelated pads bring the tension. Next up is co-founder Mattia Prete from Lecce, a real visionary who also manages the Jazz-O-Tech label and the This Is Techno Jazz parties in Berlin. His ‘Pidocchio’ is a cantering techno track with loopy drums getting you in the zone while slivers of metallic synths glisten like knives and bring a sense of terror.

Serbia’s Nino Šebelić has been making music since just 13 years of age, so very much has his own voice and take on classic Detroit. After releases on labels like Motech and Logos he offers’Smog’, a dark and trippy techno roller with Jeff Mills style melodies melting your mind while taught analogue drums and dark cosmic forces all race along. Then it is to Ireland for AudioAssault, Subsist and Stasis artist Fran Hartnett‘s ‘2000 Machines’, a blistering piece of techno with punchy drums and frazzled synths bringing real texture to the compelling groove.

Stanislav Glazov hails from Russia and has always brought a dark sense of disharmony and industrialism to his work. He does that again on ‘Letters’ which is like a walk in a derelict urban landscape with frosty winds blowing hard and decaying factory sounds echoing around the mix. Greek artist Here Now There Then brings his modular synth skills to a wall of lo-fi sound, deeply buried drums and gorgeous ambient pads that cast your mind free. It’s a real journey to the fringes of space.

Spanish artist stndrd is a master of powerful emotions as proven with releases on Subsist, Jazz-o-Tech and 91 Records. His ‘Placebo’ is pure techno meditation with its icy hit has and smooth, unrelenting drum loops turning you deep in on yourself as the acid lines grow ever more wild. Last of all, Argentina’s FU-5 brings his “music from the psyche” concept and love of both the synthetic and the organic to ‘Intrance.’ Its richly layered synth lines are unsettling and colourful as they swarm all around you and trap you in a celestial hall of mirrors before the pounding drums take off.

This is a fantastic first offering from this label, whose bold and ambitious visions in 2020 will lead to future releases focused on precise styles of techno from club-focussed to more home-listening and meditative.

Release date: May 27th, 2020.

This is the teaser they use to present their project.