Space Race adopts its retro-futuristic namesake. From the outset the heavens are the inspiration.
Florin Buchel has been quiet of late. After his excellent ad-hoc analogue collaboration with Lux Rec boss Daniele Cosmo as Savage Grounds there’s been radio silence. Until now. Under his best known alias, CCO (Contra Communem Opinionem), Buchel is debuting on Czech label Endless Illusion with Space Race.
The Swiss man’s sound has always been hard to pin down. Undoubtedly he is an acid man, but he combines that love of the harsh silver box to make a signature style. Space Race adopts its retro-futuristic namesake. From the outset the heavens are the inspiration. Dreamy meandering chords are cut through by claps, the otherworldly bars of “Soyouz” being tethered to earth through textured house percussion. Chicago inspired rhythms permeate the 12″ but behind them float soaring keys, alongside some 303 profanity. Nothing is static in the CCO universe, sounds merge and shift. Acid looms in this world of light and dark, “Voskhod” raining shrapnel and scorn from above in a measured fury. But “Salyut” is a totally different being. Deep and rich this is a brooding piece of soulful techno, one that harks back to those halcyon days of the British 90s. The Layup remix of “Voskhod” soothes some of ferocity of the original. The growl is still present but the undertones are of a much gentler mood.
Buchel’s return has been worth the wait. A new side of his music is on show. True, house structures are present but they are a support from which textured vistas of electro and techno can be are constructed. An EP that builds on the past but also offers another angle on a talented musician.
Space Race is available on Endless Illusion. [Vinyl]
