Atlanta's DKA Records has been quietly issuing vinyl for the past few years that sits on the outside of conventional techno or electronic music. Impeccable quality with an appropriately dark edge, they received a bump in notoriety last year issuing High-Functioning Flesh's debut album, which made waves into the conventional industrial/EBM world. This compilation, featuring them amongst other label luminaries, has a nice throwback feel while sounding anything but dated.
The title of the record alone made me think back to those early 80s compilations like Rising from the Red Sand or The Elephant Table Album.Current industrial darlings HFF lead off with "Confuse the Call", a dance floor stomp consistent with the strongest songs on their debut.Gurgling low quality samples, jagged Ensoniq synths by Greg Vand, and a catchy, memorable chorus by Susan Subtract (who does the best "yeah!" and "ok!", second only to perhaps Lil' Jon) has all the makings of another hit for them.The duo reappear on the flip side of the record with the Dva Damas edit of "Touch Oblivion Icon", which strips the song down to its most basic vocal fragments, deep kicks and a truckload of dubby echo and delay throughout.
The 1980s nostalgia feel pops up with a few other contributors here as well.TWINS' "A Hero’s Body, A Human's Heart" rides on taut analog sequences and up front 80s Oingo Boingo-esque quirky vocals distill the best of that neon-tinged cyberpunk vision of the future.The lengthy "The Red Dress (Parts 1 & 2)" from Tifaret emphasizes the darker edge of new wave, rather than the more conventional pop sounds.Drums seething with reverb and dramatic, nearly goth vocals blend with a mess of industrial clang and chaos, conjuring bits of the Sisters of Mercy and Skinny Puppy without sounding like either one. RedRedRed's "An Unrelenting Hour" is cut from a similar cloth, with pseudo British vocals, a wonderfully raw synth lead, and a more laconic tempo.
On a song like Tannhäuser Gate's "Pulse", the label’s more techno and dance floor oriented sounds come through strong.With a throbbing beat and brilliant bassline, bouncing from dense to minimalist arrangements while featuring heavily filtered vocals, it could work just as well in the club as it would in a more focused listening session.Xander Harris' "Protoculture" heavily utilizes stuttering kick drums and overdriven keyboard leads to again feel slightly more techno-like, but peppered with dialog samples throughout in lieu of conventional vocals.
Considering the quality of the material on here (and the previous releases on DKA) I hope that this compilation, propelled by the rising popularity of High-Functioning Flesh, will push the label into the spotlight.With an underground aesthetic, but professional quality in terms of both sound and presentation, the artists showcased on this compilation deserve a more significant amount of exposure.
samples:
- High-Functioning Flesh - "Confuse the Call"
- TWINS - "A Hero's Body, A Human's Heart"
- Tifaret - "The Red Dress"
 
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