Reading-born DJ and producer Luke Slater returns under his Planetary Assault Systems moniker, a project the artist has focused on more than his solo work, perhaps disappointingly, since the release of the highly listenable Alright On Top (2002).

That was a song-based album, but this Planetary Assault Systems release returns Slater to his techno roots, with 12 (mostly) elongated passages of other-worldly sound, of which Railer (Further Exploration) is the first to embark on a delicious journey in techno purism with its ticking rhythms, warm undulating bass and twinkling, spacey melody tones.

The intergalactic Beauty In The Fear follows like a king-sized battlestar gliding past the galaxies, yet surrounded by rapidly suffocating gas clouds. The resplendent Human Like Us blends syncopated rhythms beautifully, and sparkles with devilment – this sort of space techno, reeking with atmosphere, is simply not within the remit of every techno artist out there.

Likewise, the suffocating Call From The East, with Slater once again opening the circuit board of his mind to make his physical machinery seemingly come to life from within. The wires sound alive.

There’s no getting away from it, The Messenger will not be everyone’s cup of tea as it’s no clubbers delight, but rather thinking-man’s techno – drenched in cold ambiences with warmly radioactive hot spots.

Yes, by design there is obviously a certain amount of repetition, which means that if a track doesn’t grab you after several plays it’s never likely to, but, despite being overly long (hour and fifteen), I’m confident enough to predict that The Messenger will delight many a techno purist by bringing a lot more to the table than 4/4 beats and asinine rhythms.