posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release.

British electronic music pioneer Dave Angel returns to R&S Records with A Time And Place, his first full-length album release for the seminal Belgian label. Arriving thirty-five years after Dave first joined the R&S family, the album reunites one of UK techno’s defining voices with the imprint that helped launch his career, renewing one of electronic music’s most enduring creative partnerships.

The first track to be made available from A Time And Place is Reflexion, featuring trumpeter Steve Waterman, an airy and jazz-inflected number that you can watch below:

A Time And Place feels less like a return than the continuation of a conversation left unfinished. Rather than revisiting former achievements, the album reflects the perspective of an artist whose creative journey has continued to evolve. Reconnecting with the label that first championed his work, Angel delivers his most personal and musically expansive statement to date.

Across fifteen compositions, the album reaches beyond the conventions of techno to reveal the full breadth of Angel’s musical identity. Drawing on jazz, soul, improvisation and richly textured electronic production, the album balances rhythmic precision with warmth, melody and emotional depth. Reflections on family, heritage, nature and the communities that have shaped his life sit alongside broader observations of the world around him, creating a body of work that feels both intimate and expansive.

That openness is reflected in a carefully chosen cast of collaborators. Celebrated trumpeter Steve Waterman features on both Réflexion and The Yellow Butterfly, bringing a lyrical, Miles Davis-inspired voice to the album after first catching Angel’s attention through his work on Paul Hazel’s Out Of This World. Elsewhere, legendary Chicago vocalist Robert Owens appears on Harmony Serenade, while guitarist Merv Carswell and vocalist Aurii Sky (Dave’s daughter, adding a poignant family connection) add further colour and texture to a record rooted in musicianship and shared expression.

While Dave Angel’s influence on British electronic music has long been established, A Time And Place reveals another dimension of an artist whose foundations were laid long before techno. Raised in a household immersed in live music and jazz culture, Angel has spent a lifetime absorbing sounds beyond the club, allowing those influences to surface naturally throughout a career defined by curiosity rather than convention.

For R&S Records, the album renews a relationship that stretches back to the label’s formative years. For Dave Angel, it reflects both the path travelled and the road ahead. Thirty-five years after 1st Voyage first announced his arrival, A Time And Place reunites artist and label with the same forward-looking spirit that brought them together in 1991, proof that the strongest creative partnerships continue to evolve.

Published post no.2,964 – Friday 31 July 2026