As Dense & Pika, Alex Jones and Chris Spero have garnered an enviable reputation for making devastating club ordnance that finds the sweet spot between dark, mysterious house and roaring, brawny techno. With over a decade of material under their belt, Jones and Spero are set to release their first studio length debut album, ‘Colour Burn’ via London major imprint BMG on 4th December, home to the likes of Leftfield, The Prodigy, Holy Ghost and Faithless. ‘Colour Burn’ is a 13-track composition crossing through downtempo house and electronica, built as a conceptual sonic representation of the pair’s live audio and visual set up. The album is a step away from harder and faster material and a move towards a more leftfield sonic trajectory, featuring a handful of impressive heavyweight features of Jones & Spero’s musical heroes who have informed the Dense & Pika output. Released today, album moment ‘Honey’ features the master of sensual, slow-burn techno, Matthew Dear whose contribution to ‘Honey’ arrives in vocal form – a breathy, brooding ensemble of spoken word that glues perfectly with the duo’s trademark rough and textured sound palette. It helps turn what Alex calls “a headsy, dusty piece of housey tech” into something sensual and otherworldly. Dark and smouldering, it seems to the suck the air out of the room like a tightly packed subterranean dancefloor deep in the throes of night. Glitched out percussion and fizzling hi-hats feel caustic against the track’s low-end frequencies. The thumping bassline and kick drum combination delivers punch and pressure to the mix in a true Dense & Pika format. Matthew’s sauntering vocal contribution guides the track into a deep and hypnotic groove well equipped for any late-night excursion. “The boys sent over a lengthy jam, but there was that simple loop that stood out and had me hooked. I put it on repeat and let the mind and pen wander. It’s a bit of cosmic abandonment, brazenly sung by a professional of the night.” Matthew Dear Elsewhere on the LP, standout track ‘Hidden’ features the drums of Sepultura’s legendary metal icon Igor Cavalera resulting in a fabulous frenzy of percussion and driving rhythm. The equally momentous and unforgettable ‘Control’ features the heavily robotic vocoder of Leftfield’s Neil Barnes aiding and abetting in its quest to be a high-octane, twisted rave jam. The impressive features on ‘Colour Burn’ are an insight into the hugely artistic and visionary A&R skills of Alex and Chris and the start of a new chapter for Dense & Pika kicking off with the long-awaited release of their first studio length album. More

Hotflush’s remix series continues in style with fresh interpretations of Dense & Pika’s ‘Colt’ and ‘Airless’. The UK techno duo’s slamming main-room originals are still hot properties, but in the hands of George FitzGerald and Grain they get new life and perspective breathed into them. George FitzGerald is the Berlin based Brit who made a big impact with his bass heavy tunes on labels like Aus and Hotflush before getting snapped up by a Domino offshoot Double Six for his acclaimed debut album earlier this year. He returns to Hotflush in grand style with a remix of the now-classic cut ‘Colt’. Uplifting and replete with the inimitable tropes on which he has made his name - emotion and groove in equal measure - FitzGerald revitalises the original’s unforgettably forlorn piano hook. The second remix comes from Grain aka influential and multifaceted producer, Artwork. This is an old alias of his that makes a stomping return. His take on Airless is an exquisitely boisterous techno roller: heavyweight kicks, lively ticks and some serious main-room heft. More

Set for release next month, Chris Spero (otherwise known as UK house and techno producer Glimpse) and Hypercolour co-founder and producer, Alex Jones, return once again as Dense & Pika to the Hotflush fold with ‘Move Your Body Back.’ Having crept out of the shadows back in 2011 with a collection of white labels released through their own eponymous imprint, Dense & Pika went on to bolster their rising profile with the release of their Hotflush debut (‘Crispy Duck') which landed late last year as well as with their memorable live set at Hotflush's recent Boiler Room Takeover.
There is nothing chin-strokingly complicated or needlessly over-worked about their productions. They make interesting techno aimed at the dance floor and ‘Move Your Body Back,’ continues with this central aesthetic. The three track EP plunders percussive depths by way of stern machine rhythms, swollen low-end grit and the echoing, anthemic elements of warehouse rave techno. The title track of the EP may already be familiar to many having appeared on their Resident Advisor podcast in March and is already being played out by Maya Jane Coles, Boddika and Adam Beyer, amongst others. More

hand]stamped white label 12-inches, anonymous duo Dense & Pika re]emerge for their debut on Scuba's Hotflush Recordings. 'Crispy Duck,' their 3] track take on modern underground techno, kicks off with a chugging A side, giving serious nods to Detroit and beyond with it's deadly shuffle. On the flip, Dense and Pika claim the dancefloor with 'Coil' a tripped out up]tempo techno track, abound with hihats and fist-] pumps, followed by '31', a rough and ready tune that melds 4/4 with acid and dub grooves. Doing their best to remain incognito, the duo are on course to make 2013 their year. Huge early support from Dubfire, Adam Beyer, Midland, Will Saul.... More

Release no.4 for the mysterious Dense & Pika. 'Who Cares Wins' is another slice of grimey warehouse rawness, the kinetic drums and synths combing for a peak time cacophony of sound. Flipsides 'Morse Mode' ups the tempo whilst still keeping the duos signature rough vibe whilst 'Crackling' rounds things off nicely, more streamlined than the previous tracks with a touch of dub techno thrown in for good measure to make a brilliant end to a superbly balanced package.
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After the supremely well received first release 'Vommee' which featured on Sven Vath's recent 'Cocoon' mix CD, the mysterious Dense & Pika's next release well could be one of 2012s biggest - 'Buttplug' is the lead track (already Dj Mag's 'Killer Tune' in it's recent December issue) - a kinetic powerhouse ride of roughed up beats & bass complete with a jacked up female vocal from an anonymous source. If that wasn't enough, flip side track 'Cartoon Heart' continues the high octane thrills with a phunked up house number, the duos tight production giving the track an edge over legions of derivative here today, gone tomorrow fillers. More

High quality rough n'ready warehouse techno from two established producers (who have produced on planet E among others) coming together under the mysterious Dense & Pika alias. 'Vomee' launches the label, all guns blazing with a grimey bass led groove. Flip sides 'Bad Back' continues the low slung vibe but injects more of a fucked up lo-fi feel with a crunched up kick and metalic shards of sound. First in a series...

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Release no.4 for the mysterious Dense & Pika. 'Who Cares Wins' is another slice of grimey warehouse rawness, the kinetic drums and synths combing for a peak time cacophony of sound. Flipsides 'Morse Mode' ups the tempo whilst still keeping the duos signature rough vibe whilst 'Crackling' rounds things off nicely, more streamlined than the previous tracks with a touch of dub techno thrown in for good measure to make a brilliant end to a superbly balanced package.
More

After the supremely well received first release 'Vommee' which featured on Sven Vath's recent 'Cocoon' mix CD, the mysterious Dense & Pika's next release well could be one of 2012s biggest - 'Buttplug' is the lead track (already Dj Mag's 'Killer Tune' in it's recent December issue) - a kinetic powerhouse ride of roughed up beats & bass complete with a jacked up female vocal from an anonymous source. If that wasn't enough, flip side track 'Cartoon Heart' continues the high octane thrills with a phunked up house number, the duos tight production giving the track an edge over legions of derivative here today, gone tomorrow fillers. More

High quality rough n'ready warehouse techno from two established producers (who have produced on planet E among others) coming together under the mysterious Dense & Pika alias. 'Vomee' launches the label, all guns blazing with a grimey bass led groove. Flip sides 'Bad Back' continues the low slung vibe but injects more of a fucked up lo-fi feel with a crunched up kick and metalic shards of sound. First in a series...

More