THE BLACK DOG
The Remixes
DUSTSND004
12”
Dust Science Recordings 2005

Hot on the heels of their brilliant album, Silenced, released in September, The Black Dog have collected two tracks from it, asked Vince Watson and Carl Taylor to remix 4 3s 555 and The Stele Of Revealing respectively while they reshaped D.O.G. Style, which featured on the band’s recent Trojan Horus EP.

In the hands of Vince Watson, 4 3s 555 becomes a wonderfully soft and mesmerizing piece of vintage techno. Driven by an implacable beat and acid squelches, layered over silky strings, this mix has ‘classic’ stamped all over it. Watson applies an old school techno environment onto the original, turning it into an impressive dancefloor creation, which will have any serious clubber wishing it was 1991 all over again. In comparison, the Carl Taylor treatment on The Stele Of Revealling appears a lot more harsh and dry, but soon, additional layers brings more textures. True to the philosophy developed by the Dust Science crew, this is once again an impressive dance track. Very much like Watson on the A side, Taylor combines impeccable melody, relentless groove and vintage sonic landscapes to create a magnificent piece.

The remaining track comes courtesy of The Black Dog themselves. Closer to some of the moods explored on the album, the trio brings the pace right down here, yet the dancefloor remains the main focus behind this mix. Shorter than the two previous offerings, this dreamy reworking of D.O.G Style allows The Black Dog to bridge the gap between the club mood of earlier EP Bite Thee Back and that of more recent release. A totally essential release for fans of classic techno.

ZAINETICA
People More Fuel
CLICK11
CDS
Clickclickdrone 2005

With a considerable number of releases spread over a multitude of labels and formats, Zainetica’s Mark Streatfield surely features amongst the most prolific musicians currently working in the UK.

Zainetica first emerged in 2003 with the album Escaping Dust, which charted some classic electronic grounds left pretty much untouched since the early years of The Black Dog. Since, Streatfield’s releases, which have been featured on numerous compilations and picked up by labels as diverse as Boltfish, Enpeg, Kahvi or Laced Milk Technologies, have evolved within similar grounds. This second release for Clickclickdrone is more subdued and introvert. Here Streatfield develops a series of Spartan melodic structures shaped around dreamy soundscapes and scarce backdrops.

The two opening tracks here take the listeners deep into drowsy territory. Where I Am Now cast a first impressive blow. While tiny glitches get stuck under the hesitating melody, intermittent percussive elements add to the overall textural. As the composition slowly builds up, there are promises of vast spaces and breezy atmospheres, yet these remain totally out of reach. From The Interview takes this concept further. While Where I Am Now evolves from gentle sounds, the second track shows signs of a more abrasive approach. The beat structure combines heavy kick-drum and processed glitch and is far more intricate and sustained, which also contributes to the heavier atmospheric feel.

The two remaining track explore varied combinations of the above, with To Study Anthropology casting dark, almost post-industrial tones onto this record. Originally draped in thick layers of glitches, radio interference and distorted noises, the title track eventually emerges as the most upbeat moment on here. Yet, once again, the mood is somewhat sombre and reflective, and despite captivating melodic and sonic twists and turns, shows very little sign of the lighter touches expressed on earlier releases.

This latest EP from Zainetica demonstrates once again Mark Streatfield’s impeccable talent and is one of his most accomplished records to date.

RUSSELL HASWELL / HECKER
Revision
MEGO 069EP
12’’
MEGO 2005

From the onset both Haswell and Hecker tend not so much to the assertion of their own personalities, but to chance collisions, unexpected melodies and the symbiosis which is born as a result. A nineteen minute tumescent drone-composition, Revision comes to a boil in a slow, controlled manner, but is rife with delicately fraught textures, siren calls and swollen cacophonies of bell-like tones, all rustling through the thicket of Hecker’s squawking static. Although the piece has a dawdling, dignified gait, Hecker’s sussurating glitches infuse Haswell’s plangent chimes and tidal sweeps of digital texture with a tension and anxious electricity akin to static cling, making every reverberant, paranoiac ambiance, as it snakes and swirls through a background of surreptitious insect activity, an event most mesmeric.

Eschewing continuity with either artists back-catalogue, the clipped and shaven sine-wave tones nestled beside the bashful, if unpredictable, minimalist bleeps and hiccups bears closer resemblance to Sachiko M or Gunter Muller’s tranquil electro-acoustic endeavours. Such a bold leap in approach to composition also pervades this works every nook and cranny, and it stands as a credit to both that many moments leave the listener furrowing their brow in an attempt to discern who is responsible for each sound. Irregardless of such questions, the percolating details and scrabbling textures craft a brooding heaviness that evokes the feeling of groundlessness, a freedom burdened by no purpose, as free as it is insignificant. Certainly not a work which leaps in and dominates, each snow-scalloped drone, statacco pulse and light dusting of static, glistening like so many dewdrops on a mornings lawn, hastens one away from their situated state, from a realm of distraction and diversity and focuses one’s attention on a creation so completely rendered that contemplation, pathos and jouissance burst from every twist in the tale.

Max Schaefer

BENOIT PIOULARD
Enge
MGT004
7"
Mooodgadget 2005

An offshot project of collective Atmosphere, Moodgadget is an online record label that has also been releasing regular records since the Random Numbers CD compilation a year ago. Benoit Pioulard’s Enge is the label’s fourth release.

Behind this French-sounding names hides Ghostly International label boss Thomas Meluch. Away from the resolutely electronic scope of his label, this four track EP presents a series of short bittersweet pop songs on which acoustic guitars are sprinkled with light electronic textures. The addition of Meluch’s breezy vocals on three of the four tracks gives these compositions further relief.

The EP opens with the wonderfully delicate and enchanting Pinconning. Here, Thomas Meluch applies some discreet textures in the background while building up a clean-cut melodic theme over an acoustic guitar. The textures become more imposing toward the end and appear to emphasise the melancholic nature of the piece. This process is further developed on Kids Are Getting Younger and on the instrumental ES/SA, each revealing a new context. On Kids Are Getting Younger, distorted glitches mimic hazy electric guitars, while shimmering cascades of guitars and layers of treated found sounds and vocals give ES/SA more depth. On Sparrowfield, Meluch adopts a more conventional setting and produces the most immediate moment on this EP.

Recorded in 2004 and released in very limited quantity, Enge is a superb debut release, and comes as a prelude to Benoit Pioulard’s first full-length, currently planned for next year. With the finely detailed Kids Are Getting Younger and ES/SA proving the most satisfying moments on this EP, Enge is a very promising record indeed.