The deep lingering chords of both Lost Trax and The Connection Machine are suited to more intimate occasions. With temperatures dropping, get a seat and a glass of something. Strap on the Seinheissers, leave the economic horrors at the door and enjoy the warm techno goodness of Lost Connection.
Austerity. Doing more with less; the coalition government of the UK are all about it. Solemnity and a smile for good ‘ole Blightly whilst the populace pull up their socks and get back to work. Fine, bar the lack of work on the ground. And now Greece… EU… Oh well, let that face draw and turn grey; time for some techno. Tabernacle Records, having recently celebrated their first birthday, now turning seven with a split 12” by Lost Trax and The Connection Machine.
Lost Trax, not to be mistaken with the multitude of similar appellations out there, is a veteran of Carl A. Finlow’s SCSI-AV label. Their Tabernacle account is opened with “The Eye.” The track immediately transports back to 1992 and the classic techno of Applied Rhythmic Technology. Deep space chords are punctuated by beats, snares echoing some early Metroplex material. This aural odyssey continues with “Pulp.” The former sanctity is besmirched with heavy warbling panels of sound laced with machine beats. Calm is restored in the form of “The Forrest,” a track giving a final, and firm, nod to the former fledglings of techno.
Flip over for The Connection Machine, the twosome of Jeroen Brandjes and Natasja Hagemeier. The duo haven’t released under their TCM moniker since 2004, used for the Painless album on $tinkworx’s Down Low Music. Whereas Lost Trax blurs the lines of past and present, TCM’s “Evil Earth” is instantly more modern. The chords have a analogue richness with crisp beats slicing through. The peculiar, almost fairground, organ keys that form the piece’s spine allows TCM to explore a number of plots in this curious piece. “Speel” is beat driven techno abstraction. The track has a nice dream-like quality, hazy notes shimmering through 4/4. The slightly Ace of Base titled “Keen (On Life)” brings this splitter to a close. The track sees arches of techno buttressed by a web of 303 tweaks… a great piece to end on.
To date, the Tabernacle catalogue has been quite floor centric. The records by Daniel Andreasson and Mark Du Mosch do have some armchair appeal, but they still lean more to the club. Lost Connection is a much more headphones at home affair. The tracks are DJ friendly, but the deep lingering chords of both Lost Trax and The Connection Machine are suited to more intimate occasions. With temperatures dropping, get a seat and a glass of something. Strap on the Seinheissers, leave the economic horrors at the door and enjoy the warm techno goodness of Lost Connection.
Lost Connection is released on Tabernacle.
