Skudge – The Wind (Gold Vinyl)

Elias Landberg continues to press ahead with the instantly identifiable Skudge sound, where the best of contemporary techno locks in for tight but funky grooves of the highest calibre. It's not often we see the project break away from the self-titled label, but here it's gracing Syncrophone with some of the finest uptempo, deep-diving gear you'll hear all year. 'Wander' has a snappy strut to the beat and lead riff alike, with the drums coming on like uptempo house as much as techno. 'Hidden Location' locks in harder thanks to the enduring creep of the background pads, while 'The Wind' takes on the dubbiest duties as it stretches out across the B-side.