started: 06-11-2025
finished: 14-01-2026

Founded in Schiedam, Nederland by DJ Maarten "Forkowski" Lammers in 2022 is Pleistocene Future, a label focused on something of a revivalist bent with a slogan of "The future is the past." Now while I don't always want things to sound like older tunes that pioneered the sounds we'd come to know and love, there is something I can never get enough of which is contemporary techno that doesn't feel the need to limit itself to the dark, brooding, cavernous reverb sound. (I for one am ready to move on from that for the most part).

2022

DJ Savage - Pleistocene Future 1 (PF001)
A1 Reformed [4:32]
A2 Trauma [5:31]
B1 Rejected [4:34]
B2 Restructured [4:13]
Boasting "four ultra-hefty cuts" by a veritable "groovemaster", this inaugural EP does not disappoint and is full of the type of one-chord, ultra-jacky, techno which is hypermonotonous in the most glorious way possible. Savvas "DJ Savage" Georgiadis, like many techno producers has released music under a litany of other aliases: Cleon, Dataman, Digitalia, Diskinesia which is more downtempo/electro, Fujiyama, Giorio & Andrea , Interphaze, his second oldest alias), Kodokushi, Marcelino Sanchez, Neural Network, Neuro-D, Novatek, Shatterday, Shukhov, Taelos, The Infonaut, The Repeater

2023

Bas Mooy - Pleistocene Future 2 (PF002)
A1 Saatanaa [4:50]
A2 Lood [5:13]
B1 Bajesklant [4:48]
B2 Ekster [5:03]

The man himself, Mord Records' head DJ/producer from Rotterdam, Bas Mooy. More extreme repetition with an A and B melodic parts on the ominously named opening number, Saatana. Next up is Lood which is heavy as the name would suggest but not in the overly dark gloomy way you might be worried about, some interesting sound design, more repetitive, so might suit your purposes as a tool more than standalone but still quite neat. Up next is Bajesklant which means "jailbird" in Dutch, followed by Ekster which means "magpie". The whole EP is quite solid, with my favourites being all but the third.

Thanos Hana - Pleistocene Future 3 (PF003)
A1 Het Hoog [5:08]
A2 Ton Zelf [5:37]
B1 Version 7 [5:00]
B2 The Drums [4:37]

Thanos Papadopolous, better known as Thanos Hana, is a Greek born DJ/producer based for sometime in the Netherlands, who heads the Rotterdam label TH Tar Hollow. The first number here, whose name means "the high" in Dutch sets the tone for most of the EP, delightfully minimal and very percussion-forward. The whole EP is great, but I just wish the first piece had a bit more melodic content, because the percussion is a blast and there still is some stuff happening, it would just be nice if it were a bit higher in the mix on that one cut. Dario Evangelista - Pleistocene Future 4 (incl. DJ Savage Remix) Dromornithidae (PF004)
A1 Repentless [5:47]
A2 Ice Notes [5:36]
B1 Repentless (DJ Savage Mix) [4:36]
B2 Ascent [6:08]

Very tools-y. Nothing you haven't heard anyone do before, but in a good way. It's nice sometimes to have such a perfect execution of something that just radiates with (one of the sides of) the quintessence of techno. DJ Savage's remix of Repentless adds a bit more dynamism. ARKVS - Pleistocene Future 5 - Coelodonta Antiquitatis (PF005)
A1 Surcharge [4:55]
A2 Neoprene [6:01]
B1 Crave Slave [5:44]
B2 Steam [5:25]

ARKVS are a duet consisting of Stefan Meijerink and Wesley Visser. They have recorded mostly for Planet Rhythm Records. Crave Slave stands out the most to me, but really I like all of them with the opener being the least strong.

2024

DJ Savage - Pleistocene Future 6 (PF006)
A1 Prosperidad [4:12]
A2 Tripleta [4:19]
B1 Ritmo Mekaniko [4:25]
B2 Segundo Dia [5:23]

Dynamic Forces - Pleistocene Future 7 (PF007)
A1 Encounters [4:05]
A2 The Invisible Journey [4:03]
B1 Resolve [4:13]
B2 Holding Out [4:31]

DJ Savage deliver's four great pieces all of which would work well in most sets. The third cut is a bit different than the others and might not be quite as versatile, which isn't to say it's not a solid track.

My favourites on this collection by Dynamic Forces are the bookending numbers. Resolve is also very much up my alley. Nothing bad to say about A2 but it just grabs me less, right off the bat.

2025

543FF & Lenson- Pleistocene Future 8 (PF008)
A1 PKRST [5:15]
A2 Transition [5:27]
B1 Violate [4:45]
B2 Florence [6:13]
Favourites are Transition and Violate. Despite the difference in naming, I find the opener better suited to transition than most of the other pieces. Though the number of that name would also suit the purposes. Mion aka Edit Select - Theme Re-Mastered & Re-Mixed) (PF009)

Remixes and remastered versions of a track by a longtime techno veteran. Not currently interested in saying much but that doesn't mean I think you should pass over this one.

Nachtwaker - Pleistocene Future 10 (PF010)
A1 Oxi [4:39]
A2 Minimal Bleep [4:58]
B1 Evening Bleep Work [5:45]
B2 Falsive [5:16]

Rotterdam's Jeroen de Jaegher offers four pieces of choice dark, bleepy, techno. The third number is the highlight for me and I could easily imagine it being dropped any time of night. Falsive feels well suited to near the end of it, and the other two perhaps closer to the beginning. While the bandcamp page describes this EP as darker, it certainly isn't the type of "dark" techno which might leave one uncaptivated.
Check out the label here
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