I still remember the first time I heard the music of The Advent. It was around 20 years ago in HMV (showing my age!) and it was so full of power and energy, with no flannel, that I had to know who it was. Twenty years on, and with The Advent his own concern rather than a collaborative effort with Colin McBean, Cisco Ferreira hasn’t changed his approach at all – and so we know exactly where we stand. This well-deserved retrospective of his label’s last two decades also celebrates the centenary Kombination Research release, over which time the label has established itself as one of the cornerstones of techno music. The focus is mostly on that earlier period, so there are bruising and thrilling encounters with ‘Inn Search’, ‘Bike On The Rocks’ and ‘Monatomic’, the rolling drums of ‘Bad Boy’, but there is also a bit more delicacy in the likes of ‘Electra Fix’, ‘Bass High’ and ‘Inn Range’. Also included are tracks by Joey Beltram (‘Fractals’), Murat (‘Missing’) and Davide Squillace (‘Bike On The Rocks’), not to mention three previously unreleased Advent tracks that put their burning feet to the dancefloor, of which the chunky ‘Backlash’ is a treat. This is no-nonsense stuff with power and pace – and a fitting tribute to one of techno’s leading lights, who fully deserves all the praise he gets.
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
