The recent hype surrounding German labels like Shitkatapult and BPitchControl has failed to implicate these labels? English brother, AIRecords, an imprint that has achieved a similar, and consistentlyexciting blend of vintage electro, house, and IDM as of late. New Townis the first AI dual-format compilation, and all-exclusive, it servesas the perfect introduction to a label whose reputation is clearly notdue to the relative obscurity of its earlier releases. The compprovides an archly fluid listen; it's an impeccably picked and pacedjourney through the AI roster. I was so involved during first listenthat I had to scan some of the gaps later to check if the disc was acontinuous mix. (It is not.) The music travels from the balls-out,trance-induced techno of Andy Freer who opens the disc, to ADJ's grittyatmospherics, to SWF's aggravated ghetto tech and back in the span ofonly a few minutes. The sounds of Detroit and vintage Warp mingle mostbeautifully in tracks by label posterboy Claro Intelecto. Intelectoappears twice in New Town, first with the eerie, Drexciyanelectro of "Delete," a song grounded by a single, oscillated, andpositively electric synth note, and next with the light, syncopatedrhythms of "Breathless," which threatens to drift into sweet oblivionif not for groaning bass underneath it all. Other tracks like Fold's"Donna Hectic" integrate unlikely machine drones into low-level,foot-stomping electro that remains thoroughly accessible; T.R.I.P.'s"Donald Plays Techno" sees cold atmospheric strains butting in on anot-so-subtle disco groove. The common thread, though, is always thesongs' emotional resonance, which suffers no shortage on New Town.While other electronic labels may rely heavily on conceptual odditiesor alien sound sources to make their records go, AI seems to have itsheart planted firmly on its sleeve. Whether or not this is due to the(somewhat) overstated influence of certain Warp artists may be open todiscussion, but this cannot detract from the simple irresistibility ofeverything included here. New Town could be the best, most soulful electronic compilation I've heard all year. samples:
- Claro Intelecto - Breathless
- ADJ - Mashup
- T.R.I.P. - Donald Plays Techno
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