Dj and producer Axel Bartsch has released some days ago his sophomore album, “Experiment musik” on his berlin-based label Sportclub on October 18, 2011. Bitten by the techno bug relatively early, Axel Bartsch had already spent the better part of his youth listening to the sounds of Soft Cell, Parliament Funkadelic and Depeche Mode when he started organizing some of the biggest raves in northern Germany in the mid 90s, introducing the sounds of Dave Clarke, Dj Hell and Monika Kruse to thousands in eccentric venues like abandoned theatres and horse-racing tracks.

Two of Techno’s undisputed titans, Umek & Beltek return to Toolroom Records with undoubtedly one of the most eagerly anticipated artist albums of 2011, “Out Of Play” released on the 7th of November. This dynamic duo has quite literally devastated dancefloors this year with their pounding techno productions cleaning up the download charts on countless occasions. More precisely, Umek has cemented his status as a Toolroom favourite, with his acclaimed ‘Toolroom Knights’ compilation and a forward thinking DJ set at TK5, two huge highlights in this hero’s illustrious career.

I Love Techno 2011 is almost upon us. On Saturday, 12 November, many thousands of festival-goers will descend on Flanders Expo in Ghent. Electronic music, in all its genres and forms will be the main event. It's going to be a massive party. And... Out now, French duo Cassius, composed of Philippe and Hubert aka Zdar and Boombass, have mixed this year's official “I Love Techno” mix CD. This is the first compilation mix Cassius have ever done - in a career that has delivered classics “1999”, “La Mouche”, “Feeling For You”, “The Sound Of Violence” and this year instant classic “I <3 U SO”. The excellent mix-CD contains tracks from DJ Mehdi, Boys Noize, Zinc, Mickey Moonlight and many more.

Myths abound in the north when it comes to techno ground zero, and they refuse to go away. Oliver Huntemann is one of a handful of children of the north who, for what seems like an eternity, add an element of credence to the mythology. He does not, of course, live in a snowy forest or at the edge of the polar oceans. The sun does, on occasion, shine down on Hamburg. Nevertheless, there is a tendenc...y towards hypothermic reduction in the rigourous efficiency of the Huntemann oeuvre. Images of cold storage warehouses, desolate heavy plant sites and blueish flesh are not entirely misplaced....

You thought it was a joke when Kompakt Records released a record named after Cologne's local beer, Kölsch. But you were wrong. Rune Riley Kölsch is not a joke. He's a tall Danish guy and it's quite likely that you've already heard some of his tracks out in a club, don’t you remember one of the best track of 2010 : “Loreley”? Maybe too something from his amazing Ink & Needle series on his own Tattoo imprint or the track he's most known for: “Calabria” featuring Crystal Waters under his nickname Rune. On the 14th November 2011 he will released his new “Opa EP”.

Kris Wadsworth is an integral part of Detroit’s new wave, and with “It’s Time” he wears his city’s heart on his sleeve, delving into the electronic music legacy of his home town and showcasing the range of his own talent. His new EP is composed of 3 fantastic tracks and has been released some days ago under the German imprint Get Physical and more precisely on Beatport.

Paolo Alberto aka Dusty Kid loves travelling, as he told us in the interview we had some days ago (read the interview with Dusty Kid), no matter whether it is a trip through his own sensuous spheres of experience (like in his solo debut album “A Raver’s Diary” in 2009), or a real road movie… At the beginning of November, he will release his new solo album under Boxer Recordings, “Beyond That Hill“ that takes the straight bass drum out of the club and plants it on the roadside. Beats are rushing past like power poles, a fresh breeze is blowing in your face, both literally and figuratively.