After years running his Soloaction imprint, East German-born Shed has finally unleashed his debut album on the ludicrously-impressive Ostgut Ton label. It presents his take on techno, nodding to the past and presenting his own take with the essential hidden ingredient: soul. Detroit-watchers will be kept busy: the block UR chords on ‘Boose Sweep’, gorgeous strings on ‘Flat Axe’ and hi-tech jazz flourishes on ‘Estrange’, but with much of his education coming from the early 90s Hard Wax scene, Shed has obviously grasped that the main point of this music is taking it on while injecting your own personality. This is highly evident in outings like the floating, piano-laced resonance of ‘The Lower Upside Down’, ‘Another Wedged Chicken’ [Surely track title of the year?] and the ambient excursions like ‘Ostrich-Mountain-Square’ and ‘Slow Motion Replay’. All make for a fantastic album which will have lovers of classic techno salivating.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
