The State of Things

In the ever-evolving, yet strangely static world of electronic music how much more is there left to do? There will always be experimentation, but the emergence of truly new sounds and directions will always be limited to the mutant strains of what is already in existence. Of course what never disappoints the discovery of something which embodies one’s sonic outlook. Even more gratifying is the sudden stumbling upon of something which hasn’t been hitherto noticed, or as is more usual, something that is already possessed, but ignored.

I’m not proud of the fact that I buy certain records then forget about them completely, only to be reminded how great they are by a random action, gesture or memory. And this is the most gratifying piece of luck. Hearing even just a fragment of a composition and allowing oneself to be steered skyward thanks to a stray combination of nostalgia, deja-vu and imagination. I’ve forgotten how many times this has happened to me, but I’m going through a renewed phase of it at the moment.

What’s floating my boat currently is very Gallic in tone, the sounds of KA One & St. Sene, Life Recorder and Zadig predominantly. This aquatic and/or dubby take on techno that never grates, partly due to its softened, cosmic timbre, seems to be enjoying a bit of a renaissance at the moment. In truth it’s a more techy form of trance, but with a house backbone, if that makes any sense. It’s turning up everywhere and is very versatile, making perfect mixing fodder but having the necessary highlights to stand out when necessary. It’s proper pill music and whatever it may lack in originality it more than makes up for with its groove. Also that Beautiful Swimmers cassette mix that came out on The Trilogy  Tapes, the first twenty minutes or so of which are amazing.

I’ve also been listening to as much electro as I can, which is never enough. I recently wrote a few words on a forthcoming Heirich Dressel release. There’s only one true electro tune on it, which is very Drexciya-inspired, but the whole release is excellent. Also the Koova release on Central Processing Unit, ‘This Is Not My Future’, and The Exaltics ‘The Truth Remixes’, which is a true package of diversity and features some great artists at the top of their respective games. The double, but separate Murder Capital releases from Gesloten Cirkel are eagerly anticipated, as is possibly the hardest working man in techno/electro, Marco Bernardi’s ‘The Dancing Clowns’ for the currently beleaguered BerceuseHeroique.