A varied release, to say the least. Many different well known techno artists from Japan’s techno-scene, featuring DJ Tmykisb, Yebisu303, Doremimate and 909 State to name just a few. Ranging from acid bleepery to danceable and deep to surprising. The release demonstrates a love for the original techno sound lost in the days of minimal unimaginativism and dubstep repetition.
DJ Tmykisb opens the album with the filter-happy ‘Chrono Kitten’, an uplifting track that makes the waist wiggle. Even if seated it’s hard not to move to this sliced madness slightly reminiscent of ‘Tokyo Disco’. 909 State gives a distorted slammer likes he does so well, after which Beel’s ‘RTF_SHT’ takes over with a surprisingly deep track not unlike Richie Hawtin’s better (Plastikman) tracks. The compilation wouldn’t be complete without a good acid track! And that’s where Pulse2Pulse comes in. I should say the same for dub, and the compilation also satisfies those needs with Yebisu303′s ‘Blueprint’, a last-minute favorite of mine. In the track’s layered background there’s a loop playing which stimulates the imagination while the recognizable dub synth does it’s work of playing with your sense of rhythm. (Watch out for a very groovy break followed by a drop like we haven’t heard since at least 2005.) Yes, there’s even a melodic techno track like Carl Craig is good at producing, Choochoogatagoto is the one responsible.
The CD supplies well to the techno loving people out there that are missing the original vibe. We need kickdrums, not plops. We want acid, not just a simple sine-wave. Minimal and tech-house have their place, on this album too. But playing the same sounds over and over is what kills a genre, a scene. This album bravely steps-up where even the hardest techno DJ’s have sold-out to simple bloops and over-used samples. It’s been enough!
A CD release is rare these days, especially for electronic music (Techno). But it does give a sense of nostalgia to open-up a sealed CD box. Welcome to the post-digital age where physical releases are becoming a rarity and more of a promotional tool than an actual selling point. That’s why I appreciate Cassette Records effort to put this out there, no matter what the market is doing. To step-up and say, nay shout: Techno isn’t dead yet! I haven’t even finished listening to the CD yet, and this is what the music is telling me. The CD holds even more surprises towards the end, but I’m not gonna spoil anymore for you. You should go out and check this out for yourself.
Track List
dj tmykisb / Chrono Kitten
POP STORE JUNK / ZTN
iserobin / 7420247
Limited toss / Gus
909state / Armed poker
BEEL / RTM_SHT
Pulse2Pulse / Bouncer
Yebisu303 / Blueprint
jackmaster YOSHIKI / PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM
choochoogatagoto / Hat Season
doremimate / Gymnopedia
Sakoo / Heartbeat
tofubeats / technoizer X
SOL / One More Thing…
The album’s liner notes were written by Bibinba. I’m proud of you, 友達!
One of the best consequences of a new (net-)label is the fresh names it brings; Hyo
After missing the third EP, (I might do a review of it anyway) Cicuta releases a hard hitting six track EP with three original tracks and one remix each. The tracks are dark and abstract and take you (back?) to a sentient industrial machine gone rogue.
Here are some previews to give you an overall impression.
The tracks miss a bit of bass sometimes, a matter of taste perhaps, but the overall sound makes up for most of it. Some parts of the tracks remind me of Unmarked Noise’s release; V. Black with it’s quirky synth riffs and off-beat rhythms. The remixes take the idea of ‘dark and industrial’ and give it a little more structure and in case of the Bran Lanen remix add a bit of imagination, a small silver-lining at the end of the storm. If, like me, you’ve got a yearning for more retro-techno this is well worth your bandwidth.
Kicking off with the intro to the EP, ‘The Birth’ is a short ambient/noise soundscape to set a mood for the EP. A rhythmic track follows, which shows influences from Detroid-bass with an experimental twist. The ‘Hermético Remix’ takes the track’s hook and transforms the song into a big-room techno remix.
Shadai is where the EP picks up in speed. An up-tempo techno track comparable to, and missed since, the sounds of the start of the millennium; Dark, thumping and spacy. The remixes of Shadai are not my cup of tea though, and this is also my only critique on this release. The remixes don’t do for the EP what they should have. They offer a different perspective, a very spooky one at that. But the remixes failed to grasp me.
All-round a less dark EP than the first Cicuta release. One that’s dancable and a little more experimental, rhythmic, and crisp. Crisp for it’s great stereo-image and clearness in sound. The tracks Drugstore delivers are good and usable in your DJ-set, but get dragged down a bit by the remixes. Be sure to listen to ‘Shadai’ and ‘Night Dream’ though, the EP’s little deejaying pleasures.
Conforce’s melodic dub-techno landscapes return for this grim look on to the future.
Slow moving, dark yet entrancing, this EP takes you through 4 short stories of a civilization that collapsed on itself. Leaving a desolate place with foreign looking objects and remnants of what could be described as a disaster in a physics experiment. (Nuclear, sub-atomic, gravity, take your pick!)
The minimal nuances do all the talking in this release, moving you through the barren cities and ground that remain. But it doesn’t leave an impression of simpleness that has diseased the minimal scene the last few years. It takes from the past what it needs to create familiarity but not shy of innovation through Boris Bunnik’s (Conforce alias) own interpretation and style. I haven’t heard intriguing techno like this in a while. I feel like techno is returning to it’s core: A little more abstract, a little more dark, and much less bleepy.
The EP kicks off with a minimal techno track titles ‘Quantum’ by Kike Pravda, who we’ve also heard on the now defunct label Offaudio. A bit of the usual minimal chatter that we’ve heard the last years but with a warm sound nonetheless. People who’ve had enough of minimal techno be warned; This theme runs throughout the entire E.P. However, starting at the second track already shows it’s diversity; ‘Librium’ by Vegim. A trip through abstract slighty off-beat up-tempo techno which I’ve been missing the past seven years! After just two minutes of rolling into the track the machine like drums and synths start their entrancing process. The break around four minutes stops the process, showing it’s payload only to start-up the process again and crush it, leaving you begging for more. The third track, ‘Home’ by i1 Ambivalent, is a perfect follow-up. Keeping the machines running and slamming you and everyone else listening.
Track four is a complete surprise, exploring a progressive minimalectro soundscape that will also be appreciated by many electro-house DJ’s the world over. It creates an oasis of organic melody in a harsh electronic landscape. (Not that that’s a bad thing!) The fifth track, ‘Growing Shadows’ by One-D & Edrian Sailing, lifts you from the oasis up in the air. It takes it’s time to get up to speed but the wait is well worth it. After about two minutes the synth starts it descents from the progressive air surrounding it and impacts with the ground on numerous occasions. It’s payload is delivered spread over the next 3 minutes after which it flies off into the air again.
Another ex-off regular shows his cybernetic muscles to finish off the EP, Drugstore with a new production titled ‘Udayan’. A big-room techno track with trippy vocals and long reverbs. It shows Drugstores progressive prowess, with many twists and turns keeping the listener dancing and surprised throughout the track. A great climax for a heavy techno set reminiscent of productions by Christian Smith and John Selway.
Utilizing the Creative Commons license means the music can be spread far and wide, allowing artists to play, edit, remix and sample the tracks unhindered by copyright laws. I’m very curious how this label is gonna pan out over the next couple of years. This first release shows a lot of potential and isn’t afraid to go it’s own course. It breaks free from all the repetitive minimal we’ve heard the last few years and strikes a chord with my personal objectives; Taking techno back into a more abstract darker realm where dancing is more important than tripping-out over simple bleeps. and with that I consider Cicuta’s maiden voyage a successful one, and one hell of a trip to boot!
Tracklist:
01. Kike Pravda – Quantum 02. Vegim – Librium 03. i1 Ambivalent – Home 04. Mootiv – Work’Em Out 05. One D & Edrian Sailing – Growing Shadows 06. Drugstore – Udayan
A varied release, to say the least. Many different well known techno artists from Japan’s techno-scene, featuring DJ Tmykisb, Yebisu303, Doremimate and 909 State to name just a few. Ranging from acid bleepery to danceable and deep to surprising. The release demonstrates a love for the original techno sound lost in the days of minimal unimaginativism and dubstep repetition.
All About Music, Review, Road to Japan | JordyVision | 
11/01/2012 16:38 | 
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