(Eskimo Recordings/Stomp)

Every now and then an album comes along that completely knocks you on your ass. Hailing from Northern Europe’s untamed beauty, Scotland, are Twitch and Jonnie Wilkes (aka Optimo [Optimo Espacio in full]) and between them there is very little they haven’t heard, witnessed or orchestrated. Top that with their stupidly big record collections and ‘Psyched Out’ makes for one crazy kaleidoscopic romp through that thing we call music.

With intention or not this album is its own tidy little history lesson. Here you will be reacquainted with, or meet for the first time the godfathers, the equipment and the tracks that spawned many a movement in sound.

Named one of the most important tracks in techno, ‘Gravitational arch of 10’ from ‘Vapourspace’ greets us with wailing sirens, dark and twisted layers and an abundance of funk fuelled beats. New Yorks ‘Silver Apples’ follows in step with a screeching acid tainted track dedicated to their main source of sound, the oscillator. These guys formed in 1967 and when you listen to ‘Oscillations’ today you become fully aware of just how before their time some people were. ‘Dorau and Kohncke’ then drive proceedings head on into a host of dirty digital beats and deep house grooves with the ‘Geiger mix’ of ‘Durch die nacht’.

Only a quarter of the way through and this album is firing from all cylinders. Next in line is house legend and hip-house creator ‘Fast Eddie’ with one of his finest acid-fused moments, ‘Acid Thunder’, an absolute gem that bubbles and fizzes its way into oblivion. The circuit board is then met with classic disco hooks from ‘Sinnamon’ with a much shorter instrumental version of ‘He’s gonna take you home to his house’. This then magically morphs into ‘Raindance’ with its layer upon sweet layer of electronica from modern music icon ‘Herbie Hancock’.

One of the most astonishing things about this album is the insane degree of mixing that takes place. Tracks that you never imagined could exist on the same tracklist live together in perfect bewitching harmony. A sultry mass of robotic beats and sexy drones from industrial pioneers ‘Throbbing Gristle’ are met with ‘Hole In One’s’ ode to a dalek orgy in ‘Game from the planet onchet’, whilst the classic deep house masterpiece ‘Washing machine’ from godfather Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers) nestles in beside the power of ‘Chris and Cosey’ with ‘Walking through heaven’.

America’s straight version of the Village People the ‘Skatt Bros’ uphold the rock n roll end of the scale with the brilliantly thunderous ‘Walk the night’ as do ‘Sons and Daughters’ with the highly propulsive ‘Johnny Cash’.

I could go on, but I wont, a few surprises should be kept and I guarantee you there are more, be it in the 24 tracks chosen or the mind-blowing way in which they are presented. For those wanting to understand the true definition of ‘genre-hopping’ and be sonically thrilled in the process, then this is the album you need.