S MOREIRA/XINNER - THROUGH THE RINGS OF SATURN - PHONICA

Phonica make a welcome return to the releasing fray with this illustrious set of tracks from Slow Life regular S Moreira and his hitherto unknown cohort Xinner. It's a dense and immersive techno experience that draws upon the comforting melodic lilt of the early 90s while giving everything a potent modern sheen. "Communication Breakdown" has plenty of dub techno running through its veins, albeit with a generous sprinkling of space dust, while "Through The Rings Of Saturn" drops the dub and opts for the interstellar kind of synth play that made The Martian so fun to listen to. "Orbiting Around" meanwhile takes a diversion into Mo Wax flavoured broken beat, and then Moreira delivers a standalone "Spacedub" of "Communication Breakdown" that revels in its displacement.