Two twelves exploring Minus’ continuing less-is-more space theory and notable for a few reasons, including the highly-surprising debut of Ali Dubfire, formerly of Deep Dish and charting the outer limits of minimal with his gently-propulsive ‘Emissions’. There is also an outing from the head honcho himself, Richie Hawtin, under his Plastikman guise – uneasily challenging but as ever worth the immersion. The other tracks from label stalwarts Marc Houle, Gaiser, JPLS and Heartthrob demonstrate how this label really does have a sound of its, while pushing the envelope further than anyone else trading under the much-abused minimal tag. Every creak, electronic whisper or bath-fart counts towards grooves which are never less than insidiously propulsive while emotions invoked can range from sexy warmth to stark terror. The CD boasts an extra dark, seasick rumbler from Troy Pierce called ‘Oxtocin’. Once again Hawtin and his merry men lead the field.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: KRIS NEEDS
