FOUNDATIONS: ALLEN SAEI (AUBREY)
An architect of UK deep-techno.
Friends.
It’s Friday.
You know the score.
This week, Stef is back with one of the quiet innovators of UK techno.
Peace and love.
AUBREY
Unwavering Allen Saei is another under-appreciated producer. In my opinion, a name that does not circulate with the respect it deserves, even though his influence is all over the deep‑techno identity.
Here is a journey of thirty-five years through the emotional and technical evolution of a man who helped define the UK’s underground with subtlety, integrity, and a quiet intensity, who still holds that love for his art with utmost passion.
For this post, I will focus on Saei’s Aubrey alias, but please do check his other aliases and groups, all 11 of them, which can be found here. Including releases on many respected labels: Offshoot, Intelligence Records, Mosaic, Ferox, Reel Musiq, Syncrophone, Metroplex and his own: Cheap Knob Gags, Dark, Dot, Solid Groove, and Textures.
A LIFE IN TECHNO
From the suburbs of Portsmouth and later Cowplain, in the county of Hampshire, Allen’s music career began between four and five years before his own label, Solid Groove, was formed.
He had various influences growing up, from funk, hip hop and ambient to synth pop and jazz. At thirteen, he started DJ’ing hip‑hop, developing the rhythmic sensibilities that would later become a defining part of his sound.
Everything changed at sixteen when he heard Mr Fingers ‘Washing Machine’, a moment he describes as a turning point, a doorway into a new world. Acid house arrived, and he stepped into it with complete conviction.
It was at this point that his DJ style shifted to Acid House, and he began receiving requests to play at raves.
By seventeen, he had released his first vinyl record, Panic ‘Voices Of Energy’, a breakbeat hardcore piece released on King Meat Records and Ozone Recordings, and licensed to Buzz. This made him one of the youngest producers active in the UK underground. The transition-shift from his first releases on Ozone and Wax Factory to the sound he became known for is in his first two Solid Groove releases, ‘No Intelligent Life N.I.L.’ and Panic!
At eighteen, he secured a residency in the loft of a club called Central Park, Portsmouth. This venue regularly hosted Luke Slater, Joey Beltram and other pioneers. The residency became a launchpad, and soon he was playing across London and the South of the UK.
Alongside his DJ work, he opened Razzles, an import record shop that became one of the major dance‑music stores in the south of England. Later, he worked with Luke Slater at Jelly Jam Records, further embedding himself in the UK techno ecosystem.
These experiences, the shop, the residency, the early vinyl, the immersion in scenes that were still forming, all fed into the sound he would eventually become known for.
Within one year of Allen’s first release in 1991, he founded Solid Groove Records with a distinct idea for the music he wanted to produce. Though his first few releases for this label show he was still finding his creative identity, it became a platform where, from 1995 onwards, he developed an undeniable and unique sound.
In 2019, he set up the Berlin Record store Latitude. With a focus on the alternative DJ culture of the last 40 years, offering used records as well as new releases. Showing he remains true to where it all started. Sadly, this closed in November 2025, but he continues to DJ, produce, and be involved in all things related to electronic music.
LONG LIVE THE UNDERGROUND
Before I venture into Aubrey’s releases, specifically those on Solid Groove, I will talk about his defining moment: INT 006 ‘Long Live The Underground E.P.’ The record where everything aligns: intention, technique, emotion, identity. This release is not just important within his catalogue; it is one of the defining statements of UK deep‑techno futurism.
At the centre of this EP is ‘Journey Time’, a track that captures the essence of what makes Aubrey extraordinary.
Journey Time
A piece of music that is deep, driving, hypnotic, yet emotive to the core that grabs hold and stays with you, or rather connects to you, long after it ends. Outstandingly sublime. Seriously, nod to Jack Smooth for providing the Lead stab, which is a Korg 01W using wave shaping.
The rest of the EP only reinforces its significance. Find embedded below the other three tracks from the EP.
Sandstorm
Central Park
A nod to the Portsmouth club.
Headhunter
SOLID GROOVE
There are small shifts in his techno structure and sound between his five labels; however, it is within Solid Groove that the essence of Allen Saei, the complete message and soul of his music is found. He represents the pulse of the underground, regardless of how much of its history or relevance is being forgotten. His pieces on this label have this lovely intensity-to-emotion, one I immediately connected with when I heard SG 003 in 1995. He also brings elements from his other labels into later productions, adding layers. It is extremely well constructed, with precision percussive programming and beautiful chord work. Each release holds it own identity, commanding deep listening. However Solid Groove is music made to connect to the internal movement of one’s body; the heart and mind. Furthermore, it is music that never forgets the beginning: following a core set of principles with time, love and passion. Whenever I engage with his sound, it takes me back, as it has always done.
I will primarily be focusing on Aubrey and his releases on Solid Groove in this post; however, this does not take anything away from his other productions. I leave you to check out his other labels, Cheap Knob Gags, Dark, Dot, and Textures; these will not disappoint.
Note: The Dot releases host a wealth of artist contributions in the form of remixes, which make for interesting listening; these include contributions from Analog People, Ben Sims, Little Nobody, Mark Ambrose, Master H, Myles Sergé, Ozka, Paul Mac, Russ Gabriel, Savas Pascalidis, and Stephen Brown.
His discography is significant. To keep things as concise as possible, I will highlight a select number of tracks for you to immerse yourself in, taken from the 1990s and 2000s.
1990s
1995 - SG 003 - Lose Yourself
I have embedded the version from the ‘Breaking Out EP’, as it is a cleaner recording.
1995 - SG 005 - Ginger Biscuit
1996 - SG 006 - Long & Hard
1997 - SG 012 - Hard Times
1997 - SG 013 - Expand
1998 - SG 014 - Beyond The Ozone
1998 - SG 015 - Aspects
Not forgetting these three releases on other labels.
1997 - Offshoot - Marathon
1997 - Mosaic - Contact Funk E.P. 4 versions. A great EP. I have embedded Part 1.
1998 - Ferox - Aubrey - Blue Lick
2000’s
2000 - SG 021 - Stressed Squares
2000 - SG 022 - Looking Glass
2001 - SG 025 - Deep Reflections
2014 - SG 031 - Dust Storm Salsa
2014 - SG 031 - Sandy (Aubrey’s Windy City Remix)
2015 - SG 032 - Crimson Nebular
2023 - SG 037 - Breaking Out (1998)
Aubrey is at the centre of techno. His current work only reinforces his importance worldwide in this arena. His remix of ‘Plural’s Shifting Forward’ on Metroplex is nothing short of astonishing, twisted techno funk. Incredible.
Shifting Forward (Aubrey Remix)
Until the next one, I leave you with two tracks that show his enduring presence in proper techno into his fourth decade as a producer; insanely good.
The Crossing
Floating Point 7
This release carries the weight of a man who has spent his life refining his sound into something unmistakably unique; one who is still deeply connected to the emotional and technical core of his craft, working incredibly hard, and, more importantly, keeping faith with the art form. He stands and firmly belongs alongside the other quiet innovators.
Peace and love.
Stef
Oh, and for some old school mixing, a little treat.