KNTXT Schallplatten & CDs

Review: An electrifying journey through relentless acid and high-energy techno as Acid Asian goes in hard. The title track, 'Deep Soul', sets the pace with a fierce acid trance vibe, pulling listeners into its hypnotic rhythm. 'Space Colors' escalates the energy with epic, pounding euphoric trance, creating a sweeping sense of exhilaration. Side-2 kicks off with 'Ain't Nobody Like Us', a hardcore techno banger that's percussive, catchy and impossible to ignore. Closing with 'Humans', the EP dives into heavy, intense techno, wrapping up with a powerful and gritty finish. From start to finish, a high-octane, genre-blending ride that masterfully mixes acid, trance and techno, creating a standout release for those who like their beats pulsating and energetic.

Review: Amazingblaze returns to home label KNTXT with an exhilarating new release that reflects the increasing but subtle evolution of his style. 'Touch The Sky' contains four standout new ones, following up 2022's 'Venture' EP with a worthy sequel in the vein of hard techno and trance. Something more than mere club-functionality is achieved here, with the dreamy quality of the music of many contemporary Scandinavian artists lent to the otherwise crushing weight of Belgium's schranz and rave tradition. In other words, the likes of 'Kaleidoscope' and 'Thank You, God Always' revolve around big-roomed motifs - supreme buildups, exhilarating highs - whilst also not merely indulging the pure melodicisms of trance. There's more than a hint of antagonistically sublime grit to these tracks, suggesting that trance need not always be smooth, nor techno always gritty; it's possible to tessellate the two.

Review: On Rave On Time, her third EP of 2020, Charlotte De Witte giddily pays tribute to the throbbing, warehouse-ready techno sound of her home city of Ghent - and particularly the intense, mind-bending brand particularly associated with R&S Records in the early 1990s. De Witte sets the tone via the razor-sharp and insanely heavy title track, where ragged acid lines and spiky synth stabs leap above a stomping techno groove, before opting for drums, drums and more drums on the restless 'There's No One Left To Trust'. Acid techno is the order of the day on 'The World Inside' and 'Common Era', while triple-time closing cut 'Wahr Ist Sie Dann' is an odd, alien-sounding treat.

Review: Following up some great releases recently by ONYVAA and Alignment, Belgian techno heroine Charlotte De Witte is back with a vengeance this week on her beloved KNTXT imprint. The Formula EP features three ferocious cuts, all aimed squarely at the main room dancefloor at peak time. From the strict, heads-down shuffle of 'Doppler' and its ravey, infectious chord progression playing centre stage, to the cerebral stomper 'RPM' taking you aboard a wild ride on the acid express. It ends with the adrenalised energy flash of the title track, which goes out all guns blazing.

Review: Charlotte De Witte has long been a leader of the new school of techno. Her sound is tough an uncompromising and borrows from trance, hard techno and ambient often all at once. Her own KNTXT label is where she releases it and that is where she appears once more now with another fierce peak time EP. 'Power Of Thought' has big unrelenting drums, guying acid and some subtle smoked words for maximum anthemic effect. 'Pria' then brings some Middle Eastern melodic and vocal exoticness to her tightly clipped techno grooves and 'Abada' is a dramatic and cinematic ambient closer.

Review: Charlotte De Witte is, in no uncertain terms, one of the leaders of techno's new school. The Belgian powerhouse is busy on all fronts from epic live streams at Formula 1 circuits to dropping her own clothing ranges, running her KNTXT label to dropping red-hot records like this one. It finds her once again bringing trance and 90s video game sounds track influences to her driving techno template. 'Missing Channel' is chunky and hard-hitting with mind-melting synths burrowing deep, then as the name suggests Apollo gets more celestial with heavenly vocal sounds layered up over spacecraft sound effects and linear techno drums. The flipside brings acid and then otherworldly ambience.

Review: Charlotte de Witte returns with the 'Sanctum' EP, featuring vocals from Marion Di Napoli. Dropping just after Amsterdam Dance Event and before her all-night set at LA's City Market, the EP showcases de Witte's unique sound. Known for her dark, hard-hitting beats and trance-infused synths, she's reshaped the techno landscape, headlining global stages and earning millions of streams. The EP's title track, Sanctum, brings pulsating drums and acid-tinged synths, enhanced by Marion's ethereal vocals. Fourth Dimension blends hypnotic rhythms with soulful vocal loops, while Fugato offers a cinematic, ambient closer. Another standout release from this techno heavyweight.