Techno constantly gets pulled about, rebranded and, right now, stripped to its bare circuits in the name of minimal. The Detroit originators mated Kraftwerk with P-Funk to make a new strain of electronic dance music, channelling their emotions and futuristic visions through analogue machines, inspiring likeminded producers to chart their individual sonic trajectories. A Guy Called Gerald has been exploring the infinite possibilities of pure machine music since napalming the Hacienda with ‘Voodoo Ray’ in 1988, forging drum ‘n’ bass templates in the 90s, returning to analogue techno roots with 2006’s Proto Acid: The Berlin Sessions. Since then he’s popped up on Berlin underground labels like Perlon, but now returns to Laboratory Instinct for his most consummate work to date. Through thirteen often breath-taking excursions which beautifully expand and embroider the classic techno blueprint, Gerald plunges his creative soul into the machines, often finding the perfect beat while recalling the simple beauty of early Chicago house in the swirling ‘People Moover’, shimmering deep house on ‘Just Soul’ and uncurling Detroit-style cloudbursts over ‘Iland”s resonant shuffle. There’s even a luxurious new treatment of old muckers 808 State’s ‘Pacific State’ [now titled ‘Pacific Samba’]: a cool nod to Manchester roots which is just one highlight of this decade’s first major electronic milestone.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs