(cd, Rhythm & Sound/EFA)
I have craved for new sounds from my favorite techno outfit Basic Channel
for some time now. Alas, they "killed" themselves when they finally released
the Basic Channel cd compilation back in 1995, to immediately rise from the
grave as Rhythm & Sound. No clinging to names, no fame games, stay ahead of
everything and everybody. So, when news of a new compilation finally arrived
I got wary. Practical questions about the need for yet another collection of
minimal techno, ambiguous memories of the Tikiman album and just plain
doubts about the ability of the elusive duo to create something new and
exciting again.
10 seconds into opener 'No Partial' the doubts are gone. Never have Rhythm &
Sound sounded so close to pure reggae, a confident opening of the
compilation that gathers material from a number of 1998 and 1999 maxi's with
three new tracks. 'Trace' (one of the new tracks) is mind-blowing, one of
the best things Ernestus and von Oswald have ever done, a whispering track
built out of quit waves of joy that sound like an unknown deity cooling your
burning heart in the form of sweet rain. Throughout the compilation Rhythm &
Sound sound totally blissed out, wasted and floating, as if they have
(re)discovered E.
The first half of 'Rhythm & Sound' is very varied for a duo that is well
known for quietly changing little details from maxi to maxi instead of
producing drastic revolutions. 'Mango Drive' is an exquisite track in the
style of Maurizio's 'M7' in the way it lightly lets the echoes uncoil into
ever changing patterns. 'Distance' is extremely calm, the sound of a haunted
city sleeping while 'Smile' (the only vocal track) is a success because
Savage lets the music do most of the talking, at times just adding a
catchphrase or two. The second half of the cd is more of a careful
reinterpretation of the Basic Channel sound, longish minimal tracks where
bouncing bass softly echoes into infinity. This template reaches its logical
conclusion with the 15-minute long closer 'Imprint'. At those lengths techno
really becomes something of a different order; fascinatingly empty and
timeless, the sound of space-dust raining down softly on a deserted Berlin.
In dub we trust, always. It's the sound of futurity itself.
(door Omar Muņoz in www.kindamuzik.net, 2001)
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