Amplified People - Screen Memory EP (Arpanet)

 

Title: Screen Memory EP

Artist: Amplified People

Label: Arpanet

Cat Number: ARPA 002

Genre: Techno

1: Ghost Black

2: Canon Jack

3: La Nacht

4: Solitaire Wargames

5: FreiPartei

6: Detroit City FC

Arpanet is an interesting choice for label name, to say nothing of the confusion it can cause with search engines. Once that initial petty hurdle has been cleared however, the music can be absorbed in an amphibious way. I prefer to do this through the skin in order to pore over every detail. And this is good and deserving of attention. Straddling the techno/house hinterland in a techier way than most, and managing to preserve a form of originality many had thought dead, ‘Amplified People’ collectively deploys everything in the right place at the right time. It’s techno above all, but suffused with house and a retro spirit that sounds anything but hackneyed. ‘La Nacht’ is such a vignette. Ghost Black’ is a melting pot of highly syncopated machine funk riddims that effortlessly crosses over, while ‘Canon Jack’ is possibly the best of the bunch. A sinister clarion call to moodswingers everywhere. ‘FreiPartei’ wears its Suburban Knight influences on its sleeve, ‘Solitaire Wargames’ is a minimal night drive along a conveyer belt of awakening and ‘Detroit City FC’ comes from a similar strain. Slowed down to relative wooziness. Carried off with a panache that demands your attention, this is pretty good gear.