Antiguo Autómata Mexicano: Kraut Slut
Static Discos

The oddly-titled Kraut Slut turns out not to be so odd after all, given that Angel Sánchez Borges' second minimal techno outing under the Antiguo Automata Mexicano guise pays homage to his teenage years in the '80s and his fascination with German krautrock, the movies of Buñuel (Los Olvidados, specifically), and the poetry of Rimbaud. Sánchez Borges, who also records as Seekers Who Are Lovers on Soundsister, maintains interest throughout Kraut Slut by balancing predictability with unpredictability, specifically by coupling an insistent motorik foundation on the one hand with a perpetually shape-shifting cluster of organic patterns on the other; though the album in general exemplifies the approach, “Malandro de Culto” and “Reflect Ella” perfectly exemplify the slippery style.

“Rother, Dinger, You and Me,” a restrained microhouse jaunt, makes for a subdued opener but things heat up in “Mitte” (and in the tracks that follow). Named after a Berlin district, the tune percolates aggressively, its hazy textures and flickering noises reminiscent of the first Antiguo Automata Mexicano album, Microhate, issued on Germany's Background label (though the space jazz-techno-house setting “Harm & Jazz” more vividly resurrects Microhate's hazy, aqueous style). Elsewhere, a locomotive tech-house pulse burns at the center of “All Stijl,” “Extirpe” cools the pace for a six-minute ambient space trip, and “Co.Opt” purposefully hews to a repetitive minimal techno template. Static Discos often caps its releases with a remix or two and Kraut Slut is no exception: Kampion reshapes “Mitte” into a minimal, bass-heavy lurch that's funkier than the original, while I.A. Bericochea launches “Co.Opt” into the stratosphere at warp speed.

May 2007