Last year marked the reemergence of Anoesis following a 20-year hiatus. A highly respected producer across the ‘90s, specialising in interstellar IDM and electronica, Howard Dodd rose from his statis to release two new albums alongside a five-track EP on Cyphon Recordings last year. A bold statement and stake in the ground showcasing that Dodd’s production prowess has not faltered in that time, but has rather taken on a fresh vitality in this new chapter.

The Megacognition EP exudes Dodd’s distinctive style. A master at making tracks that sound like they were created in an extraterrestrial laboratory, fed by long lost tapes of Detroit techno from ‘Planet Earth’.

‘Vision Off’ opens the EP. Subaquatic rumblings with precision drum programming that dials from reverberating kicks to crunched claps. Trembling basslines and hypnotising synths entice you to the depths, as arps trickle to the top disorientating your brain.

‘Do Don’t Don’t Do’ and ‘Polybius’ follow. The former, a spiralling, off-kilter web of interlocking synthesis, that’s both dizzying and harmonising in the same breath. The latter a dubbed-out, minimal house groover packed with tactile basslines, dusty drum loops and echoed vocal samples.

Take to ‘New Style of Life’ for a transfixing dose of twisted Martian music, guaranteed to cause a stir. Warped electro meets cybertronic electronica with a techno edge. ‘Voxelle’ then closes out the EP. A soul-rousing cut of euphoric deep house. Stargazed, sunrise hazed, it’s a track that can be deployed anytime, anywhere and is sure to leave a lasting mark. Layers of luscious pads and celestial strings topped with an infectious synthline that will suspend you weightlessly in a bubble of worry-banishing brilliance.

Active in an age where talent, diligence and taste meant more than social media traction and algorithmic obedience, Dodd’s versatility and class have clearly never waned since those early days. If anything, the Megacognition EP shows it is as strong as it has ever been. More

Repress!
This excellent piece of music (sourced from the original DAT) was way ahead of its time in '95. Still a roller. For Selectors only. More

Having surfaced from a 20 year hiatus this year with two new albums, Anoesis continues his restored run of form letting loose a five track masterclass in IDM, electronica, house and electro on Cyphon Recordings. Showcasing a signature touch crafted across the ‘90s, the Stasislogue EP flies the flag for the fact that Howard Dodd has by no means lost the ability to make a dancefloor move.

Operating in a far flung corner of the cosmos, Anoesis was responsible for some truly mind-warping breakbeat and IDM across the ‘90s on labels such as D*Fusion Records and Octopus - releasing tracks that always felt like they were made in another dimension.

Continuing where he left off, the EP opens with ‘Track Thirty 7’, a production that could just as easily have come from Mars, as it could Detroit. Glitched out yet driving, conceptual yet considered, it’s got an ethereal urgency that moves limbs with purpose.

‘Callisto’ follows, part UR, part dream house - an emotive, eyes closed journey with soaring pads and glistening synths laid over a bubbling beat. Rounding off the A side, ‘May Eleventh’ gives a real insight into the modulated mind of Anoesis, a hardware-heavy, underwater electro trip that nods to the deep sea dwellers, Drexciya.

Flip it over to find ‘Space Watch’, a skippy house bumper with a grooving low-end and lunar transmissions hypnotising from the off, before a peak-time, dancefloor-focussed slice of mind-expanding electronica, ‘Places For People’, rounds off the package.

Honed in the ‘90s, yet firmly rooted in the present, it’s clear to see that Dodd’s ability to write absorbing, interplanetary machine music with a human heart at its core is as strong as it’s ever been. More

--Wake up sleepyheads; after another rotation around the sun and the fog of the early year drifting across the realm, what better way to break through than breaks. Spray is once again on the archival quest, dusting off jewels for the dancers, with this time’s excavation taking us to a 1994 North London bedroom (heard that before huh?). Originally released on D*Fusion Records, at a time when the ever-rising pulsating amphetamine twitch of hardcore was side stepped, with some furthering their fury into jungle, and others receding into more cerebral and ethereal realms. This collection of huge tunes falls into the latter from the producer Anoesis; a release for the post-post generation, when bygone specters of trance dance mania become the ghouls of the moment, the need for Rave ever increasing.

All in all it takes about 15 seconds to know that ‘Heavy Water’ is an essential massive break your speaker hit. Gated vox pop out like sirens in the smoke and lasers, calling you to engage with the eternal/internal rhythm that is the acid squelch break. A perfect dose of psych deviates the song to a higher path. For the remix contemporary audio savant D. Tiff strips away the buzz saw grind of the original, encouraging hypnosis and trance-infected desires, with a touch of mooood.

On the flip Diact is super keen for an ascension. A menaced freaky overlord, pulling at the strings that the dancers are mere puppets to follow, channeling a big beat essence. Trouble Down Groove assumes the form of the classic break and vocal flip, full of twitched sampling hype; 1 for the dancefloor headspinners. Aligned to the Anoesis sound, it’s mutated with a certain type of alluring growl, a sonic signature, and the key sound running through this EP. More

Following 2 heavy reissues of “Silver Mirror Of Her Eyes” and “Heavy Water” from original works on D*Fusion Records in 1994-1997, Howard Dodd aka Anoesis returns to physical in 2023 for a new full feature-length album via Australian based imprint Paper-Cuts. Selected works between 2010-2022 “Memory On Memory” offers a modern take from the underground UK artist, spanning refined breaks, playful tech-house and modular experiments stretched across this 9-track LP. More

Anoesis is the duo of Doc Bozique and Oxidation and this is their third release on Cosmic Soup. It is one that has been long anticipated by fans of their well designed breakbeat sounds and their first since 1995 when they dropped Blood & Sweat on D*Fusion. As such there is a hint of 90s post rave magic to the 11 cuts here, all with cosmic intent and deep grooves. They are tunes that have you lost in a reverie on the heart of the dance floor but with your gaze turned skyward. Essential stuff. More