Various – Document Part 2 review

Artist: Audion and Mike Parker
Title: Document Part 2
Label: Spectral Sound
Genre: Minimal/Tech House
Format: 12″, Digital
Buy From: Juno Records, Juno Download

Another solid sampler from Spectral’s soon to drop Document compilation. Quite a departure from the twisted house of Part 1, this instalment comprises a pair of full-on techno monsters.

Audion’s “Just Me” taps a similar vein to his recent Spectral output, with another relentlessly looping exercise in twisted groove. Carefully timed percussive drops form the body of the tracks, slowly piling into the seething mass of beats and effects. The best way to describe it would be like a deeply disturbing walk through a techno jungle; animalistic growls stir beneath the sequenced undergrowth, while a demented lead calls plaintively overhead. Fun stuff.

The second track comes courtesy of new Spectral signing Mike Parker, a visual artist with a penchant for pitch black techno. “Protolanguage” lives up to its name, taking techno to its most stripped down and primitive. An acid line writhes its way between the steady kick pattern, whilst ominous atmospherics pervade the lower frequencies. Already a favourite with Marcel Dettmann (arguably, the biggest name on the techno circuit at the moment), this is an effective tool for the darkest of dark rooms.

Review: Tom Ensom