VA - Interstellar VA

Henri Bergmann's Automatik label sources an array of talent with its inaugural Various Artists compilation, featuring 15 essential club-ready cuts. In curating the work, Bergmann found inspiration from her local London scene and has hand-selected some of the UK's burgeoning artists and friends to feature alongside herself, including Hardt Antoine, Paride Saraceni, Sahar, Cenkk & Pattn. Henri kicks off the VA with 'Vision', the strobe-lit, arpeggiated synth laced techno cut, before Monophase's 'Valkyrie' locks you into a spine tingling atmosphere with epic synths over rolling drums. Underspreche brings the trance with an ethereal vocal hook to the stylish 'Il Canto Delle Fate', Paride Saraceni's 'Intuition' is full of taut synths and dramatic chords and Yet More's 'What You Heard' chops up tortured vocals and dark rolling beats. 'US' will swirl across the dancefloor with the enrapturing melodies of Betical, 'Rizzo' goes for plenty of tension and clattering percussive texture by Argia and Bergmann & Hardt Antoine then join forces and get more raw and direct with the potent 'Can't Escape'. Cenkk brings his epic signature operatic vocals alongside well-treated strings over supple beats; Bigfett nails a heavier groove with more turbulent energy and raw percussion; Jono Stephenson layers angelic vocal snippets over rhythmic beats to take you on a soulful journey; and Kaive serves up a cosmic techno exploration full of energy and emotion. A trio of tasteful tracks rounds off the compilation: Tobak keeps it elegant and bright with magnificent chord work dancing in the sky; Pattn features an emotionally charged vocal, wrangling through an atmosphere of tense dystopia with 'Indecision'; while Sahar programmes perfectly nimble drums overlaid with pixelated Krautrock synths that send you home after a real rollercoaster of techno excellence that covers all bases in style. This is a superb collection of forward thinking sounds.