Containing some of the smartest, edgiest techno this side of the greats, September Cell should simply be considered one of the finest debut releases for a label in many, many years.
[Release page] Any new release from Dominick Fernow’s Vatican Shadow project is something to get excited about, but few have come close to the promise and thrill of September Cell. For one thing, this is the debut twelve on his new Bed Of Nails imprint, pressed up on limited edition, transparent blue vinyl in a die-cut, custom printed, in-house sleeve. For another, this latest installment furthers the expansion of the project, branching out in several new directions, all of which are a great deal more accessible than his noise-based Prurient projects.
Though the regime change referencing track titles nicely reflect Fernow’s relocation to LA and the foundation of the new Bed Of Nails compound, some might be pleased to see that the controversial track titles of other Vatican Shadow releases take something of a back seat on September Cell. Instead, sharp focus is placed on the introduction of purist techno sounds with subtle hints of corroded industrial seeping through the cracks.
The murky amber glow of distant street lights and the midnight blue of moonlight playing across shadowy back road slums form the mise-en-scène of the two-part “September Cell” suite on the a-side, like the soundtrack to a frenetic, covert operation to exercise a government coup. There’s an incessant, high-speed, pulse-racing rapping throughout and thanks to some exceptional timing, the gap that clearly separates the two tracks has been edited to perfection and doesn’t interrupt the narrative flow. “September Cell (The Punishment)” redraws the more ambient figures of “September Cell (The Storm)” with greater intensity, the rapping now a menacing tick and clonk, the ambient washes an oily smear, the bass even further pronounced as adrenaline takes hold, and traces of the old Prurient power electronics bleed through in ground-shaking, heavyweight crunch and brain-shredding crackle.
Although September Cell is uniformly brilliant, its most magisterial passage is the potently charged “Cairo is a Haunted City.” Wraith-like, Carl Craig synths curl like black smoke through dark skies, and the whole track is given propulsive force not through traditional 4/4 kick drums but the breathless, brushwork hi-hats, hefty syncopated tick/clap and double-clonk of the most inventive rhythm sections on the EP. Even the ultra-fine details that are the hallmarks of all-time techno classics are here: witness the double-switch genius at 6’24” as the rhythms are shaved off, leaving the shimmering pads, only for those to break up as the piece launches back into the gunning percussion. And to round the EP off, there’s the beatless ambience of “One Day He Heard the Call” that recalls the halcyon days of B12 with its pensive chords, reedy synths and brass flourishes.
Containing some of the smartest, edgiest techno this side of the greats, September Cell should simply be considered one of the finest debut releases for a label in many, many years. With the next EP by collaborator Kris Lapke’s Bronze Age project shaping up to be every bit as strong, Bed of Nails looks set to be added to the pantheon of all time great techno labels.
Essential.
September Cell is available on Bed Of Nails. [Release page]
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