Marcel Fenglers agenda-setting HARDPROOF series returns to his IMF label with another well-curated mix of forward-thinking techno. The superb sixth edition features the sounds of Steve Redhead, Audioklinik, The Sixth Sense, vrov and a collaboration between OGUZ and STEYA . The five previous editions of this series have established it as a vital resource for those who like their techno skilled and uncompromising. Its offered a wealth of timeless tracks from carefully sought-out artists, all of whom fit with the labels mission to platform next generation stars and enduring innovators while also chiming perfectly with the signature sound of Fenglers own groove-driven sets. Opening up is STEYA, the rising Belgian talent who dropped her debut solo EP to great acclaim on this label in the summer. She links with multidisciplinary Dutch-Turkish artist OGUZ whose refined sounds roam across the techno spectrum and take him to clubs and festivals worldwide. Their excellent 4 AM Lullaby is a heavy techno thumper with smeared dub chords rippling out to infinity as the tight percussive loops drive things onwards with great force. Steve Redhead brings a veterans touch after more than 20 years at the forefront of the scene. He has worked under various aliases and put 40+ EPs that never do the same thing twice. Here he offers Even Ears which is a serious wedge of tightly-programmed concrete funk run through with evolving synth lines. They make for a dynamic, ever-shifting atmosphere of suspense peppered with moments of subtle release. Few artists do hard groove and tribal techno like Swiss-born Audioklinik, another veteran who has been shaping the underground since the 90s with countless chart-topping tracks and important DJ residencies. His enthralling Serendipity skates along the surface with shimmering percussive patterns and flat, forceful kicks. Tripped-out motifs up top provide wild hooks as this tribal wall of techno sweeps up everything in its path. Contemporary innovator The Sixth Sense always brings great character to his techno no matter how functional it is. He is a favourite with the likes of DJ Bone and Mark Broom and no stranger to this label as well as his own Akashic Records. He impresses again here with Her Horny Blouse,' a high-speed banger that has subtle breaks when playful sax notes burst out of the mix before the funky drums and twanging synth loops drop once more to carry on the carnage. Last but not least is Berlin-based DJ vrov who has a famously raw sound that has taken him to labels like Abstraction and Khazad Records as well as this one before now. His 'Past To Present' is a dense, multi-layered slice of loop-techno drowned in buffed-metal synths with icy hi-hats and slamming drums locking you into a hypnotic state.