Cybernet Systems "The Borg EP" (Panic Trax #001 12")
This: 1. We are Borg
2. Elektrotek
That: 1. Extreme Force
2. Will I Dream?
There is a standard Jeff Mills quote floating around that says that if a
song sounds like you've heard it before, then it isn't Techno (with a
capital 'T'). This can be taken to a logical extreme to say that in the best
of all techno worlds, the #1 album on the charts would be some aimless
experiment by Stockhausen or the Aphex Twin. The absurdity of this notion is
obvious on its face - especially in light of the Detroit pioneers' output
over the past few years - but is a valuable motivator for those who like
their techno to actually have something new going for it. Herein lies a
dilemma: How to blaze a new trail without getting lost in the forest and
separated from your friends?
The most recent cause nostalgee in dance music is electro. The early techno
form has inspired many to take their favorite trance and acid-house elements
and slop them onto a standard minitruck beat, flattening a once-madly
dynamic style for the emperor's new props, while ignoring the atmosphere of
radical innovation that birthed their progenitors more than a decade ago.
One of these ancestors was Dynamix II, best known for the Hot Classic bass
anthem, "Give the DJ a Break." Coming back out from the shadows to help out
"P. Klein" on a blazing cut of electro-tronik mayhem called "We are Borg,"
they forge a zipper-synth bass jammy that will keep your woofers happy and
perhaps give you a chuckle at the same time with vocal samples ironically
reminiscent of Frank Zappa's "Sy Borg."
This record is a great example of learning from the decade that electro has
been away. Perhaps through the influence of people that were there way back
when, Mr.(?) Klein has broken through the stagnant tropes of re-creation and
appropriation to provide us with an up to date cross section of his
interpretation of the Idea of Techno. Dirt-funk sounds dripping with
resonance and galloping Q-tips quote the foundations laid by others, a la
"Tour de France" and "Pack Jam," hanging back while the interplay of the
sounds and rhythms take center-stage. Though the breaks you find on this and
other present-day electro are not nearly as radical as those found on, say,
"Yes, Yes, Yes" by Uncle Jamm's Army, the textures tend to be a bit more
mature and complex. Not switching direction as they break, but steering as
they meander. BTW, "Elektrotek" has the most extreme tweak on a vocoder that
I've ever heard.
9
eh