Techno is often just beats, brawn and no identity. It’s this lack of personality that often makes Techno appear the darker more underground sibling to its more immediate family member House. We have a saying at BBB that ‘just because it mixes perfectly into the previous record, doesn’t mean it should be’ and here in this statement lies the conundrum when it comes to reviewing and featuring Techno.
All too often Techno records can lack any sort of subtly or nuance making them virtually indistinguishable from one another. As a result, unless you take a step back, you can find yourself buying the lot, mixing them perfectly and unwittingly delivering a seamlessly dull set. When Techno is at it’s most potent is when its creator is able to combine the genres prerequisite raw power with a lightness of touch that draws hidden melody from its often industrial sounds. With all that in mind you can probably guess where Julian Perez’s ‘Sputnik EP’ fits into our thinking…
Opening track ‘Object D’ on first listen sounds like any other Techno track you’ve heard over the years, however it’s not until you skip to the subtly more melodic b-side ‘Prosteishy Sputnik’ and skip back again that you notice there is greater depth to ‘Object D’ than you initially thought. At least that’s what we discovered when listening to the EP. The subtle washes of white noise panning left, right and centre along with the echoed and filtered stab sound build a rich texture around the rolling drums and two note industrial synth line. Couple this with Julian Perez’s expertly judged and tractor beam like groove and you have a techno track that will do some serious damage. ‘Prosteishy Sputnik’ builds on this fine opener injecting a little more melodic interest alongside a slightly straighter House type groove, this is perhaps our pick from the EP as we really enjoyed the seamlessly constructed arrangement that brings considerable vibrancy to the tracks constituent parts as elements are covertly removed and reintroduced to great affect. EP closer Korolev’s OKB-1 see’s Julian Perez further straying towards the House end of the spectrum with a hazy sun setting warm up track that entices you to ditch your day job and fly to some idyllically located festival or club.
A sterling EP of subtle brilliance that has already made its way into our record box…
Julian Perez – Sputnik EP (Subwax BCN) Out Now