Tommi Bass: Tommi Labs Volume One
Rednetic

Rednetic's in-house DJ Tommi Bass draws from a diverse array of house, electro, drum & bass, and techno styles in concocting this relentlessly hard-hitting hour-long set. Bass modernizes his chrome-plated futurama sound by hot-wiring the tracks with android voices and layers of glitch, and boosts their sexual ambiance with orgasmic moans and sighs (“Amber,” “Y_tronics,” “Nasty Girl”). The material's solid throughout, whether it's pulsating electro-funk (“Dirty Chavette”) or steaming electro-dub (“Very Metal”). Bass is clearly well-schooled too, given how naturally the synth-heavy techno landscapes of “Nono” and “Darkfak” reference the majestic tradition of Kraftwerk-styled music-making. In the best cuts, a swirling storm of glitch can't stop rimshots from snapping like firecrackers in “Dirty Dustronica” while epic washes and a slippery electro-funk pulse kick out the electronic jams in “The Kainer.”

December 2006