The cold wind of electro rolls over the record and the clinical aspirations of Dopplereffekt or Urban Tribe takes the helm.
[Listen] In 2009 it appeared that TRUST had shut up shop. Output from this Austrian imprint ceased and it seemed DJ Glow, label owner, had given up the ghost on this one. Not the case it appears. 2011 sees the return of Viennese electro and who better than to put the key in the ignition than seasoned TRUSTees Microthol.
Microthol are the electro duo of Philipp Haffner and Constantin Zeileissen. Over their near ten year collaboration the twosome have pushed some excellent electro and Detroit inspired techno, and the opener of the latest EP Supergravity is continuing the rule. “Supergravity Solutions” is solid Drexiyan style. The track drips with an analogue liquid, held together by a tight beat. The track echoes some of the early sounds of the UK techno scene, with a thought provoking ambience shadowing throughout. “Atlas Detection” is a much more spartan affair. The cold wind of electro rolls over the record and the clinical aspirations of Dopplereffekt or Urban Tribe takes the helm. An almost Eastern medley brings “Andolit Swaras” in, with mechanical shunts broaching the veil. The tracks breaks from its predecessors, being more a piece of electronica and glitch as digital paint is sprayed over a dubby canvas. The record takes yet another twist with the dark blip hop of “The Bliss” featuring Sensational. Vocals are laid over a looming piece of electronics with an acid line injected. The track harks back to the meeting of laptop artists like Funkstorung and Funckarma with hip hop artists a few years back. It’d be interesting to hear this without the lyrics.
Supergravity is not what I thought it would be, an electro record with some stirrings of techno. Instead it seems to be an attempt by Microthol to showcase what they have been doing over the last two years. In this respect the record seems quite unbalanced. The A-side reflects what the duo had been doing, making solid techno and electro and that’s what the two tracks are. The B-side is a jump into the realms of experimentation and electronic abstraction. Yet, the B-side sounds quite old in a way with this style (especially meshing hip hop with a bit of glitch) Fair dues to Microthol for trying their hand at something new, but I’m not sure the something new should be such a slight snapshot which throws the 12” off kilter.
Supergravity is out now on Trust. [Listen]
