Reviews
TECHNO: JANUARY
- Words
- Reviews
COMPILATION OF THE MONTH
Various
Fabric 61 (FABRIC RECORDS)
It’s been a pretty successful year for Visionquest. This time last year the Detroit techno quartet of Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Shaun Reeves had only played a handful of gigs together and their label had yet to press a single record. One year on and they’ve landed underground dance music’s equivalent of a knighthood with this Fabric mix. It’s well earned, drawing on a rich tapestry of techno old and new, North American and European; a subtly intricate web of carefully selected techno jams that goes from the stoned micro-house of Stephan Laubner’s ‘Portside Waves’ via the brighter Franco Cinelli rework of ‘The Sound Of Violence’ and ending in a pair of hits from label signing Footprintz, taking in Larry Heard, DVS1 and Green Velvet along the way. The stand-out moment is recent label hit ‘Forest Fires’ by My Favourite Robot, but this is one gem among many on this painstakingly crafted underground hit parade.
4/5
Highlights
Cassius ‘The Sound Of Violence’ (Franco Cinelli remix)
Catz n Dogz ‘I’m Free’ (Carl Craig mix)
My Favorite Robot ‘Forest Fires’
DVS1 ‘Polyphonic Love’
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TUNE OF THE MONTH
Noir & Haze
Around (Subb-an remix) (NOIR MUSIC)
Seductive take on one of 2011’s biggest. This was originally something Subb-An rustled up for his own sets (and a few select others), but the popularity of his take on Noir & Haze ‘Around’ since its Ibiza hammering this summer means it’s now seeing a release. Containing some vocals that have become familiar since the original release earlier this year, Birmingham’s Subb-An adds his own chunky seductive bassline making it perfect for the Visionquest and Hot Natured clans.
5/5
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B-Ju
Free Scu (DIRTY BIRD)
Single-sided warm San Fran bass techno. Dirtybird’s latest release provides its signature warm bass sounds in B-Ju’s track ‘Free Scu’, presented as a single-sided vinyl release. The San Fran label adds intermittent squelchy 303 lines and jabbing vocal samples to the party in this solid shuffler. It’s a sure-fire winner as Dirtybird gravitates ever so slightly towards the UK bass sound from its slightly more heads-down vibe of yesteryear.
3/5
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Perc
Wicker & Steel (remixed) (PERC TRAX)
Hypnotic slow-burners plus driving 4x4 numbers. Perc has some remixes soon to appear on his Trax label, consisting of a selection of pulsating reinterpretations of his own productions. Tommy Four Seven delivers the most interesting effort with some excellently abrasive 2-step beats. Elsewhere on the EP a hypnotic slow-
burner from ASC, some 808 claps from Sigha & Truss and a driving 4x4 number from pioneering trio The Black Dog are all worthy of a mention.
4/5
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Mark Fanciulli & Jordan Peak
Keep On (AREA REMOTE)
Swirling synths and rolling basslines. Clattering deep drums lead Area Remote’s 35th edition, featuring a collaboration between established young guns Mark Fanciulli and Jordan Peak. The London duo dish out a swirling synth lead and a rolling bassline for what’s hopefully the first of a many from this pairing. On the flipside, Shinedoe’s remix delivers in percussive groovy techno, adding a little extra edge to the original.
3/5
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Egal 3
Time Train (EDEC)
Check out the Ryan Elliot remix. Romanian double-act Egal 3 dispatch an atmospheric, stripped-back beginning, building to a strong bass kick around the halfway mark with their debut release ‘Time Train’ on the recently minted EDEC Music Outlet. Also on the EP, Detroit-based producer and DJ Ryan Elliott turns the almost dreamy original into an onslaught of haunting vocals and the signature dark, moody sounds which have seen him contribute on Berghain’s Ostgut Ton and Matthew Dear’s Ghostly International labels in recent years.
3/5
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Various
IOTDXI Sampler (R&S)
Compilation sampler of unreleased gems. Revived Belgium-cum-London imprint R&S prep their ‘IOTDXI’ compilation this winter with tracks spanning their rich 25-year history, plus some unreleased gems. A hard-edged offering from label boss Dan Foat and accomplice Nathan Boddy, aka The Chain, provides classic Detroit sounds with a trendy vocal sample telling listeners to “Work for your shit”. ‘Left Unsaid’ by UK bass producer Pariah combines warm deep bass and haunting vocal cuts – surely a sure-fire winner with the cult R&S following.
3/5
Leghau
Toy Box Vol 1 (FIGURE)
Dark, percussive club tools. Hailing from the south of France, somewhere between Lyon, Montpellier and Marseille, Leghau is all about kinetic basslines alongside intricate percussion. This month sees the release of his ‘Toys Box’, this being Vol.1 with more on the horizon. The five tracks are simply named ‘Toy 1’, ‘Toy 2’ etc. ‘Toy 3’ is perhaps the highlight, a slightly deeper techno offering.
2/5
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Sam Paganini
Cobra (MINUS)
No-nonsense bouncing techno with solid grooves. After the recent departure of Magna, Marc Houle and Troy Pierce from the Minus stable, the Berlin techno purveyors have drafted in some established talent from Italy in the form of Sam Paganini for this latest release, which consists of four straight-up dancefloor tracks, all no-nonsense bouncing techno with solid grooves. The highlight for us is ‘Last Call’ with its screaming builds into earth-shattering drops – a shoo-in for head honcho Hawtin all summer long.
4/5
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Detroit Grand Pubahs
Sandwiches (remixes part 2) (ENGINEROOM)
Fresh ‘Sandwiches’. Eleven years on from the original release, Detroit Grand Pubahs release the second slew of fresh remixes of their classic ‘Sandwiches’, coming out on their newly minted Engineroom imprint. British techno spearhead Ben Sims weighs in with some signature pumping techno grooves, the classic vocals looping over and over. For his second remix on the release, Sims adds some classic acid sounds to proceedings, while Killa Productions take things further back with a 91 big beat revival remix.
3/5
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Gabriel Ananda
Live Series Vol III (BASMATI)
Loopy atmospheric techno. Cologne-based Gabriel Ananda brings out the second volume of his live series following last summer’s ‘Hey Blop’. Lead track ‘Sphere’ is, just as the name suggests, a loopy, atmospheric track. On the flipside, ‘Pharao’ is slightly more understated, with a killer synth breakdown into rolling bass.
4/5
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Jim Rivers
Airport Vultures EP (INTEC DIGITAL)
Haunting vocals and boisterous synths. For Intec Digital’s latest, Jim Rivers turns in an original track and a rerub of Trevor Rockcliffe & Blake Baxter’s ‘Visions Of You’. ‘Airport Vultures’ is aggressive, with a boisterous synth lead and clattering beats. The remix puts the haunting vocals from the original next to punchy 808 claps and intense percussion, and is probably the better version.
3/5
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