Substance 50: The Destroyaz (Youngman & Landstrumm)

Substance mark a half-century of nights with a certified biggie: the first live UK performance of The Destroyaz, who combine the experience and skills of two of techno’s finest sonic experimenters, Bill Youngman and Neil Landstrumm. Youngman, a New Yorker who moved to Berlin, and Landstrumm, who migrated for a few years to New York from Edinburgh, ended up looking in different places but for the same thing: dark, sonically inventive techno that is determined to pull apart the circuit boards of the equipment they employ until every conceivable bleep and squeak has been mastered for full dancefloor control.

Ditching laptops in favour of the old gear, the duo have been working together for over ten years and first released a track under the name The Destroyaz back in 2005, but it was not until last year that they finally completed an EP together which possesses a relentless spirit with regards to audio manipulation, where no aspect of the sound stays the same, as glitches and bleeps mutate every few seconds to create new textures and rhythms. Be prepared for a pounding, full on sonic adventure, with bells on. [Kenneth Scott]