Mattia Prete has been at the heart of Techno Jazz a new musical movement where the freeform improvisation and instrumentation of jazz meets the futuristic and hypnotic mechanics of techno. Prete has been working in this niche as a DJ, live performer and producer, but also as manager of Jazz-o-Tech, the innovative and well-known label based in Berlin and Milan that is home to many upcoming visionary talents.

Prete now lays out his unique vision of Techno Jazz on a first EP under his own name for Jazz-o-Tech itself. Three of the forward-thinking tracks are collaborations with musicians Prete admires and respects, and one is a remix from Reeko the Spanish techno producer.

After releasing Silent Rain EP as part of Beat Movement duo, Prete now fully steps out with a bold representation of his take on the fascinating techno-jazz sound. It is cinematic and expansive, heady yet physical, and builds bridges between the famous Berlin sound and the exciting new developments happening in his native Italian scene.

'Moon, Please Don't Go Away' with composer and multi-instrumentalist Alberto Fiori pairs heavy, spacious bass hits with a rousing lead synth. It is epic, suggestive, and a real call to arms before the pummeling kick drums charge into cosmic battle. 'The Bright Side' with the great French trans-jazz band Bada-Bada slowly but surely gets you in a trance. The drums are powerful and liner, but the jazz sax up top is loose and liquid. It unfolds with increasing tension before the energy dissipates and you're left adrift in space next and the sax returns as a more friendly presence. Mattia then links with jazz pianist Uri Gincel and producer and guitar player Daniel Calvi for 'Burning Man,' which was previously a part of the This is Techno Jazz Vol. 1 compilation and is a deep, dark and brooding track full of eerie suspense.

Daniel Calvi is also the collaborator on 'Stein'. It is a track dense with ideas - the train-track drums, the tortured keys, the waves of synth, then a stunning acoustic guitar solo that brings beauty and hope. Last of all, dark industrial techno maestro Reeko remixes 'Stein' into a thumping and cavernous groove with twisted synths that drag you into a dystopian future.

This is a landmark EP from an artist who is helping to take techno into innovative new realms.