As I have found myself moving further and further into the depths of minimal techno, I've become increasing intrigued at the depths and intricacies it has to offer. Lush, layered textural drum patterns, beautifully simple, stark synth washes, and a surprisingly rhythmic, danceable feel.
But either way, minimal techno is either head-pleasing, or body-pleasing. Luckily, I have happened upon an American producer by the name of Gaiser (short for Jon Gaiser) who, by some stroke of luck, in addition to stellar production skills, manages to play a middle ground that works beautifully in both areas of dance music: the head and the body.
Let's start off with Gaiser's first major release on RIchie Hawtin's minimal/techno monolith M_nus (pronounced MInus). "Neural Block" is a 4-track EP that beautifully showcases Gaiser's possibilities and strengths as a producer. The eponymous cut marries a plinging synth with cut-up, robotic vocals and hissing, snaking snares with a classic, booming kick. The track rolls along with a subtle undertone of malice; a snaking, serpentine tone that gathers momentum and curves its way through the track and in and out of thought. The synth begins to echo itself and space out as the track gathers more momentum, hisses, growls, and the same computer plink keeping time throughout. The cool thing about this cut is that the sound is very similar to the name of the track and the 'message': the track tries to move to new areas, but the ghostly vocals, cut in like some computer program gone wrong, cause the rhythm to stutter and start over again, in a sense, a 'neural block'. Beauty.
The other highlight of the EP is 'Separation', a dark, ominous cave of a track that shutters, echoes, and groans like a massive mechanical monster. A quivering, dying synth plays into the darkness, as the groans grow and sigh away again. Eerie toms and hollow bongos fade through the empty space, with the sound seeming to bounce off of walls all around, reflecting back at the listener every few seconds. Eventually nothing but the groans remain, before a cave breeze blows the beat back into place, and the groans grow farther and farther away...a mysterious, dark cut that caps a beautiful EP.
Oh yeah. Forgot. 'Seepage', the third cut, takes astral blips and bloops and wraps them loosely around an snaking, icy cold synth line, complete with random pops and electronic gasps. The only track with a semblance of melody, 'Seepage' oozes downtuned organ sighs further down the track time, as the beat rolls along comfortably, and the pings grow and waver without certainty.
Overall, this EP showcases Gaiser's talent as a producer, and his specific sound: hollow, dark, empty, layered, dense, textured, and completely danceable. You can download the full EP here:
Gaiser - Neural Block EP
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Next up comes Gaiser's second massive double vinyl EP on M_nus, Eye Contact. Another monster of an EP, with a few selected beauties worth a listen.
'Eye Contact' begins like typical Gaiser: thick, booming drums underneath a sheen of sparse, disconcerting sound elements (hisses, blips, bloops, squelches). THis is a much more rhythmic cut for Gaiser, but this is definitely for the better. Cave-like in sound and structure, the light snares bounce wonderfully off the kick/hi-hat combination that keeps time. The track whines and cries, itching to grow and break up, with the drums finally gathering some friction against the electronic squirms and whines issued every half-minute or so. Eventually, the track plunges headfirst in a cave where the whines echo their loudest and most sinister. Another oddly catchy, but mysterious track.
'WIthdrawal' is the other big draw. Much more straightforward rhythmically, this cut simply takes thunderous, banging drums and lines them up against astral, shimmering synth lines. The effect is eerie, spacey, but works wonderfully. The track becomes grounded, with its arms flailing through the air. The echoey synth gives the track some much needed breathing room that floats it through your mind for the next four or so minutes.
Everything in between is typical Gaiser, with mixtures of melodic elements, ominous sound bytes, and complex, layered soundscapes that move your head as well as your body. Tops 'Neural Block' but only a very small margin.
Here's the EP in it's entirety:
Gaiser - Eye Contact EP
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Finally, I'm going to preview my next post with this video. I'll let you have a listen and....see what you think. Until next time...lights out.
-NL
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