V/A :: Machine Funk Is Our Game (Kraftjerkz)

Across four tracks the 12” journeys down different avenues. From the otherworldliness of the circuit boards and electrical impulses to the body slamming pastiche of the 1980s this record will deliver.

Well, it’s official. For those of you who missed it, electro is en vogue. Following a spread in MixMag the genre has been given the green light by those in the know. Fatuous undertones aside, electro has beavered away for decades with little notice. During the explosion of house, and all its relatives, machine funk was all but ignored. Finally, many will heave the sigh, this style is getting its dues. Nevertheless, are there some garnering more attention than others? The American imprints of the revival, and many will refute that word, isn’t getting the same coverage.

Kraftjerkz is fanatical about electro. Although the US label has crossed into a number of genres, the synth warmth of Neud Photo or Yellow Beach Balls for example, its heart beats, and its move, to a stark rhythm. The latest from the NY imprint is proof of this. Across four cuts a cross section of machine music is explored. The first planet encountered is the frigid futurescape of “Doctor City” by Alonzo. Samples orbit thick bass lines as bleep is sent into the stratosphere for a track that would go for lab coat or spacesuit ensemble. Latvia’s Dmitry Distant teams up with Starpliktuve to pick up where Alozo left off. Chilling cascades are swirled in freezing fog in the off-world colony of “Purvciems.” The flip sees temperatures rise as Chase Smith takes over. An artist who seems to recently have come out of hibernation with the cobwebs are well and truly being shook off with “Muzyka Kompjuter.” This one comes from a freestyle angle. Drums are clean and tight, a floor filling groove playfully accompanied by vocoder vocals. The W.T. Records veteran then returns to edit a track from label boss and head B-Boy Kid Ginsing. “Arabian Celluloid” is a juddering, break replete, workout adorned with turntablist talent and razor scratches; an old school end.

Machine Funk Is Our Game delivers on its promise. Across four tracks the 12” journeys down different avenues. From the otherworldliness of the circuit boards and electrical impulses to the body slamming pastiche of the 1980s this record will deliver. Support the excellent wealth of UK talent out there but remember those American motherboard brothers—Kraftjerkz providez.

Machine Funk Is Our Game is available on Kraftjerkz.