Sor & Since We Last Met

It's been too long, friends. Sorry 'bout that. In college now, up at the lovely University of Vermont, and loving every second of it. Let's get down to business now, eh?

The first track I'd like to highlight is an oldie, but one I only recently stumbled across. It's from Chris Liebing's own label, CLR, which is known for boisterous, abrasive hard techno. This cut comes from German producer Tommy Four Seven, and it is by far the hardest-edged techno cut I have ever heard. So dense and so thunderous a tune this is, it literally sounds as if the track is coming apart at the seams. Interestingly, only occasionally does this track rely on a 4/4 drum pattern, giving it a deeper, slower, more ominous mood. The main riff, if you could even call it a riff, sounds like angry, warped white noise trapped in some kind of subspace; desperate for attention but unable to get but a few growls and snarls out. The bassline is gnarled, taut, and monstrous, an entity all its own. An apocalyptic death-march that snarls, barks, and grinds the very membrane of your skull, this is only for those few who truly enjoy techno: this is the outer limits of danceable, down-to-earth techno.



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This next track is a huge standout for me, a deep minimal disco gem that floats above headspace with a beautifully simple, honey-sweet synth riff that, however simplistic, gets stuck in your head and creeps through your body like some kind of heavenly virus. Go figure. Written by NDF (Sergio Giorgini & Bruno Pronsato) "Since We Last Met" takes gossamer synths, a flitting flute sample, a simple bassline, and a few other simple effects to create a gorgeous aural palette of music that drifts for a little over ten minutes. From time to time a disembodied voice will wander into the soundscape (which sounds like it was partly recorded in a train station) and utter a few simple verses with a similarly ethereal voice. The original is a poignant, deep, and utterly beautiful minimal deep disco cut that will remain on my chill-out playlist for a good long while. Multiple plays recommended.



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Ricardo Villalobos himself turns up on the flip to remix the original (On DFA, no less?!) and any fan of RV knows what to expect: a deep, snaking journey of organic minimal techno, and that's just what we get. Villalobos builds the groove almost right out of the gate, layering a plinking keyboard with buzzes and blips of the original's minimally lush background. Simple hi-hats compliment the rest of the sound before the vocals drop in. Before, where they stood as compliments to the atmosphere, they juxtapose it here to great effect; ghostly voices drifting slowly in and out, lost with no rhythm or sense of direction. From time to time the original's main riff lingers in, if only for a few seconds, before being submerged in atmosphere and those deep drums. A 17-minute journey, this remix might not have as much of an impression or growth as other Villalobos mixes, but its minimally chilled aesthetic and simple groove make it a worthy addition, and a great home listen or afterhours cut.






Will post more later. On to work.
-NL