Electronica? Techno? IDM? This is a list of machine music from the last 12 months that’s metallic, alien, futuristic, and makes no bones about it. That doesn’t even pretend to be “organic”. That’s sampled, sequenced, programmed and proud. There are no big room bangers here. I’m a bit too long in the tooth for that. Much of the electronica that excited my ears in 2023, I’ve already rounded up, under the banner of “ambient”, or “chillout”, while raising a Chocolate Milk & Brandy, or two, at sunset… 

…Kenneth Bager and Tolga Boyuk took inspiration from Tangerine Dream scores as East Of North. Adam Higton created his own Cosmic Neighbourhood. Richard Norris dove into deep listening delights and made magical music for healing. Gigi Masin dropped into dubwise with Rod Modell, and then sent Eddie Chacon into outer space. The Orb released Prism, while Local Psycho were The KLF reborn. There were reissues from Les Dupont, Hole in One, Neural Network, and Stryke. Killer comps, from Isle Of Jura and Richard Sen, contained classics by Centuras and Irresistible Force. Music From Memory went swimming with Dream Dolphin. Fila Brazillia brilliantly bound together all the Beatless bits from their back catalogue…

When I say “futuristic”, I guess as far as I’m concerned, “nostalgic”, would be more honest. What I’m really looking for is music that recalls a mid-90s, so called “timeless”, sound.

Warp remastered / repressed landmarks by The Black Dog, F.U.S.E., and Speedy J, which we covered in detail. Something else that I should have mentioned, though, was Haruomi Hosono’s N.D.E. Rescued by Rush Hour, this 1995 set saw the Yellow Magic Orchestra founder flirting with tribal techno, trance, and progressive house. Aero, Heliotherapy, and Teaching Of The Sphinx are standout diversions into Orb-influenced ambient and dub. 

Steve “Stasis” Pickton continued to share art from his archives with the brilliant Belgian label, De:tuned. Hard Emotion was probably the highlight, but Citadel came very close.

There was also brand new music as other old pioneers returned to the fray. Mike Paradinas produced the stunning 1977, something he admitted was his own moment down memory lane. Mike’s old mucker, Aphex Twin let loose on an E.P. of typically eccentric electro. His Blackbox Life Recorder rocked. 

Newer names also delivered numerous prog and IDM-nuanced nuggets. Hybrid Man’s 12 for Wax O’Paradiso was off the hook. A wonderful whirlpool of Underworld, William Orbit, and The Orb. 

Gary “Vendetta Suite” Irwin summoned similar references with his cracking remix of the Calm & Jimi Tenor collaboration, Time And Space. 

The Om Unit and TM 404 team-up, In The Afterworld was rose-tinted trip of rave remembered, in breakbeats, TB-303s, and seismic subs. 

One surprise, for me, was a 7 that came with Issue 98 of Electronic Sound. This featured a track by Andrew Fearn, of Sleaford Mods, recorded under his Extnddntwrk alias. Minus bandmate Jason Williamson’s passionate political pub poetry, Full Moon is buzzing, blurred, haunting, and bucolic.  

Another pukka revelation was Paranoid Pyramid’s “Mellow acid missives”.