Track Of The Day: System 7 - Alphawave (Plastikman's Acid House Remix) (Butterfly)

 

Here are gentle hippie folk System 7, aka Steve Hillage and Martine Giraudy, getting theremin treatment from Plastikman, aka Richie Hawtin, at the height of his powers. There’s something so satisfying about the sound that comes from the 303 on this track. It’s ust a kick and a long drawn out acidic squelch until the handclaps come in, and they sound magnificent too. This is big room techno before the concept existed, but the beauty of it is is it’s excellent. Not a loopy cop out. And once the hi-hats come in at around4 minutes there’s no going back. The intensity just builds and builds. Layer upon layer of sound battering you into submission. And yet it manages to remain eternally funky.

Track Of The Day: Robert Hood - Museum (Axis)

 

From the ‘Minimal Nation’ double pack on Axis that I discovered while leafing through the disorganised boxes in Salinas, a record shop in Montmartre in the early nineties. Tracks like ‘Museum’ defined Robert Hood’s artistic vision at the time and usher din a whole new approach to techno which was undeniably from Detroit, but darker, more introspective, funky and subtle. ‘Museum’ is probably most notable for its elastic approach to syncopation. So much is done with singular elements in this track. Less is more innit.

Track Of The Day: Peace Division - Feel My Drums (Fuju)

 

If Peace Division are known for anything, it’s for their all-out percussive bombs, most of which coincided with the west coast tribal tech house boom at the turn if the century. ‘Feel My Drums’ sort of eponymously explains this. Like a lot of the tracks of the time it sounds better pitched down. Even doing this doesn’t distract from the sonic maelstrom that you find yourself in the middle of though. The drums are the sharpest tool in the box here, with the other elements ranging from the dub, to the parasitic, synthetic embellishments that provide focal points throughout. This was made more than twenty years ago and the magnitude of this sound has never been replicated.

Track Of The Day: Holloware Squad - Surface Intention (Emissions Static)

 

An incredible, early piece of work from Carl Finlow, amongst others. ‘Surface Intention’ is the AA side to the magnificent ‘Moonax’. It’s a brooding, intergalactic monster whose power is in its restraint. I mean the drums don’t kick in until around half way through. It’s all about rewarding the listener, but it is also a bit of a tease. I like tracks where the different elements seem to have been atomised. Everything here feels like constituent base element meltdown. This what happens when you attempt to put a tune in a centrifuge and then try and make sense of it while your head is still spinning.

Track Of The Day: Sweater - Feelings Of The Future (Omnidisc)

 

It’s great when a track sums up its title in such a contradictory way. ‘Feelings Of The Future’ is one such expression. This would have been appropriate in the mid eighties, around the time I visited Berlin for the first time, (about to go for the second this June), and the cold war was in full swing. Not that I was A space-age synth disco connoisseur at that time. That would have made life more interesting. It did seep through though, from time to time. And whether or not I was immersed in it, this track IS it. The “looking back to look forward” aesthetic distilled into fine freaky minutes.

Track Of The Day: E.R.P. - Multipole Vector ll (We're Going Deep)

 

This has recently been released on the excellent We’re Going Deep’ which is overseen by Paul Wise, aka Stasis. The back catalogue is pretty special, so getting Gerard Hanson to contribute is the cherry on top of what has been released so far. All of the tracks are more than worth your while, and I’ve chosen this one because it underscores a lot of what makes Hanson such an outstanding producer. The elements within; sinister growling base, spacial awareness of sound, the disparate flourishes and embellishments which gather around the space but never seem to crowd it out, and the momentum it has, which isn’t always apparent in electro, but is definitely one of Hanson’s calling cards, all contribute to make this track unmistakably one of his. Tracks like this soundtrack our dreams and our imagination And although this is a reworking of one which is nearly twenty years old, it still sounds like the future.

Track Of The Day: Jay Tripwire - What Kind Of Voodoo? (Big Chief)

 

One of many tracks that Jay Tripwire has made over the years, and also one that perhaps typifies more than most a very particular era in house music. This tribal sound, imported mainly from the west coast of America, was everywhere around 25 years ago. You do have to wade through the tech house marshes to extract the good stuff however. So many labels and artists, but maybe only a handful were producing this sound with any real flair. It was absolutely huge in clubs like Wiggle and its various offshoots, and is having its day again. I guess the essence of it is fusing tribal percussion with dub and a thick low end. There are plenty of mutations though. Anyway, this is a lovely piece of work so get the drugs out and throw some shapes.