Studyman :: Minimal Action (Decabaret)

Studyman is cutting his teeth on the French label with the Minimal Action EP. There have already been some web comparisons to Robert Hood and some bygone Detroit sounds, but does Studyman live up to these high claims?

Studyman 'Minimal Action'

Decabaret Records returns with a new release and a new artist. Studyman is cutting his teeth on the French label with the Minimal Action EP. There have already been some web comparisons to Robert Hood and some bygone Detroit sounds, but does Studyman live up to these high claims?

The four tracker starts out with “Traxxx.” A piece of high bpm techno with definite echoes of Michigan coming through in the modern composition. Yet, the track’s lack of movement reduces the it to quite a diluted Techno morsel. Dreariness takes hold quickly and fatally. “Unlost” follows with more staying power. The track is 4/4 straight techno, building slowly with a nice bit of muscle. “J A” opens the flip. Studyman does throw up memories of Jeff Mills, tracks steadily developing into full floor pieces. In some respects, it is a sound that has lost much of its dynamism but there is an honesty in it. “Drums N Co” ends the record. A bone rattler of a track. Beats crash upon one another in a frenzied finale. The best to finish.

Minimal Action is a decent debut—the EP has its ups and its downs. In parts its humdrum, lacking in creativity; “Traxx” is emblematic of this. At another turn Studyman has churned out some palatable Techno, as in “Unlost.” As the curtain is about to fall he unleashes the best of the lot, “Drums N Co” reflecting on Detroit’s past in pushing his drum machine to the fullest. There’s a certain floor appeal coming through on the record; a floor that, at times, you’d happily venture out onto, but then avoid. There’s something unstable to the sound, hitting the right notes but often missing them. An interesting, if not overly familiar (and at times underwhelming), brew from this newcomer.

Minimal Action is available on Decabaret.

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