Articles
2011 Top 10s and 20s
Spotlight 4

Albums
Akhet
Cory Allen
Alva Noto
Aun
Bass Communion
Alexander Berne
Birds Passage / Rosado
The Black Dog
BNJMN
Ursula Bogner
Cokiyu
Steve Coleman
Cubenx
Mats Eilertsen
Elektro Guzzi
eleventhfloorrecords
Ben Fleury-Steiner
Golden Gardens
Goldmund
Thom Gossage
Steve Hauschildt
Helvacioglu & Pancaroglu
Illuha
Larkian & Yellow6
Clem Leek
Mamerico
Milyoo
Hedvig Mollestad Trio
Nao
Yann Novak
Sasajima & Hirao
Scissors And Sellotape
Ryan Scott
Till von Sein
Shaula
The Silent Section
Scott Solter
Spheruleus
Talkingmakesnosense
thisquietarmy
Anna Thorvaldsdottir
tINI
Tycho

Newly Issued
The Beach Boys

Compilations / Mixes
Deetron
Mike Huckaby
Radio Slave
Rebel Rave 2: Droog

EPs
Thavius Beck
Niccolò Bianchi
Falko Brocksieper
Alex Cobb & Aquarelle
Deru
Everything Is
Ed Hamilton
Hammock
Herzog
Oknai
SlowPitch
Tracey Thorn
Damian Valles

Deetron: Balance 020
Balance Music

If there's one word that comes to mind when listening to Deetron's contribution to the Balance series, it's kaleidoscopic. It's about as eclectic and encompassing as a mix could possibly be, with the Swiss melodic techno producer (real name Sam Geiser) bringing into its fold a dramatically wide range and number of artists. While some are hardly strangers to the format (Lawrence, Move D, Nicolas Jaar, Carl Craig, Maceo Plex, Surgeon, Radio Slave), others are less commonly called upon (Throbbing Gristle, Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto); regardless, Deetron's esoteric tracklisting gives the mix a powerful impact. Adding to the release's presentation, the first disc was mixed digitally (additional production and editing done with Cubase and Wavelab) and the analogue second was recorded using three turntables and an Allen & Heath mixer. Deetron treats the material fluidly by having elements of tracks drift in and out of one another, though never jarringly. With a couple of exceptions, the transitions are smoothly executed, and the parts that do overlap do so with a natural, complementary feel.

The digital disc takes flight with an Autechre intro (“Nine”) before moving rapidly on through a jacking, Detroit-styled Unabombers remix of Shit Robot's “Losing My Patience.” Even at this early stage, there's a euphoric vibe in play, with the mix oozing effervescence and style and, when the “Losing My Patience” vocal enters, soul. Brief pit stops with Todd Terje (“Bonysh”), BNJM (“Blocks”), and DJ KOZE (“The Geklöppel Continues”) follow, leading into the rapturous, jazz-inflected swing of Move D's “Your Personal Healer” and Carl Craig's re-rub of System 7's “Positive Noise.” A high point arrives midway through when the hypnotic strains of the Thom Yorke-Four Tet-Burial collaboration, “Ego,” emerge, its trippy vocal melodies and mallet percussion textures powered by a delectably funky groove that smoothly segues into Maceo Plex's equally funky “U & Me” and Caribou's acid-drenched treatment of Virgo Four's “It's A Crime.” The tempo slows a tad as we move into the disc's final laps, with the soulful “Explode” by LV and Message To Bears bleeding into the textural pianistics of Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto's “Pioneer IOO” before coming to a blazing New Wave close with Savage Progress's rambunctious “Heart Begin to Beat.”

The second disc leaps into action with as much energy and insistence as the first, and moves as quickly if not even more so. An intro by I:Cube (“Un Dimanche Sans Fin”) serves much the same scene-setting purpose as the Autechre opening on the first disc, after which Deetron moves rapidly through cuts by Substance (“Relish”) and Ripperton (“Swept Illusions”) before settling into the soulful house of Âme's surging remix of Osunlade's “Envision.” Deetron gets in on the act, too, by adding the locomotive thrust of his deep rumbler “Croque” to the set and then following it with the pulsating funk of Mathew Jonson's “Learning To Fly,” the lithe acoustic pianisms of Reggie Dokes' “Haiti,” and the old-school blaze of Romanthony's “Bring U Up.” The mix's wild, high-octane vibe carries on through tracks by Four Tet (the jazzy globe-trotter “Pinnacles”), Cosmin TRG (“Fizic”), and Radio Slave (“Let It Rain”), growing progressively more focused on raw techno as it does so. Heading home, we get the jacking, bass-throbbing skip of Deetron's “Starblazer” and a Carl Craig remix of Ronny & Renzo's “Heartbreak Theme” before Deetron takes us out with his previously unreleased thumper “Collide.”

December 2011