DELTA FUNKTIONEN
Traces
93DSR
Delsin Records 2012
09 Tracks. 60mins06secs

 Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD  US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: LP | DLD iTunes: DLD

Music like it used to be back in the day. This could be the subtitle of this slice of classic techno from Dutchman Niels Luinenburg, who has been recording as Delta Funktionen since 1998. Following a string of EPs for Delsin’s sister label Ann Aimee, Luinenburg now delivers his debut album for Amsterdam-based Delsin, and it is a pretty polished affair.

Concentrated slices of hypnotic minimal techno, Luinenburg’s EPs, released over the course of the last four years, have resolutely been aimed at clubs, but with Traces, the Dutchman broadens his scope quite considerably as he steps back from the dance floor to investigate more subtle electronic genres. With the first three tracks, Luinenburg builds on beautiful electronic structures and gentle melodies, hinting at the kind of music B12, Kirk Degiorgio or Richie Hawtin made for Warp or ART in the early nineties. Opening piece Frozen Land is a mighty fine example of this, its sleek groove, sparkling bleeps and atmospheric tone, fueled by early Detroit techno and electro, combining into a timeless piece, a process partly replicated on Utopia or Challenger later on. Despite a slightly heavier rhythmic section, Luinenburg still maintains fluid loops and airy melodies, this time sprinkled with just enough of a hint of acid, on the former, whilst a more ambient approach on the latter allows him to let the piece grow at a more steady pace as he brings in new components in as the track progresses. In between Frozen Land and Utopia, Enter sounds somewhat more oppressive and moody, subjected to prominent slabs of acid, at times quite evocative of early Plastikman’s chemical-infused atmospheric techno.

The three pieces at the core of the album are more indicative of Luinenburg’s work to date. Heavy footed and incisive, Redemption signals a change of tone for Traces as the man strips his textures and sounds back, straightens the beat into a commanding 4/4 and keeps things neat and tidy all the way through. Even more upfront and motorik, Target and And If You Know build on their predecessor’s momentum, the former keeping to a streamlined groove and dreamy motifs, the latter building on a tight acid set up before Luinenburg smoothens things again with the dreamy electro Onkola. The album is brought to a close with the extensive and ambitious On A Distant Journey. Over its ten and a half minutes of funky electro, Luinenburg appears to revisit Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express and injects a hefty dose of twisted cosmic disco (think Space’s Magic Fly viewed through a kaleidoscope) into it.

In Luinenburg’s own admission, Traces collects tracks recorded over a long period of time, with no particular thread linking them in any particular way, yet it all happens to actually work surprisingly well as an album, the sum of its many parts adding up to a pretty consistent collection of classic Detroit-infused electronica and techno which is definitely worth investigating.

4.3/5

Delta Funktionen – Onkalo [DSR093] from Buro Lamp&Kap on Vimeo.

Delta Funktionen | Delsin Records
Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD  US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: LP | DLD iTunes: DLD