Quickly making a name for themselves in just three relatively closely spaced releases, Massage Brain Cult has certainly become one of my favorite record labels in the braindance genre next to Central Processing Unit and Analogical Force.
One of our favorite labels in the braindance genre
Quickly making a name for themselves in just three relatively closely spaced releases, Massage Brain Cult has certainly become one of my favorite record labels in the braindance genre next to Central Processing Unit and Analogical Force. MBC’s √∆1 compilation also made it our Best of 2020 compilation list.
Mause :: Run/Stop EP & Remixes
This release is deceptively titled an EP but really would seem to be a quite a bit more than that, the mix of styles among the tracks and remixes and the general vibe reminds me a lot of Machine Drum’s Half the Battle EP, another EP that seemed to be more than the sum of its parts. Mause brings us a variety of deep acid techno cuts, with all the prerequisite haunting ethereal melodies you could hope for, tons of squelching 303’esque synths, and layers of cleverly programmed drill n’ bass beats. This is a great collection of tracks, each one a bit of a self contained mini romp through fast drums and martian melody territory, often sounding like maybe three or four tracks that all slurred together at some point. There are no dead spots, no weak tracks, and no filler in the six tracks offered which by itself puts it ahead of a lot of albums with a very high enjoyment ratio.
Besides that however, there are also several more excellent remixes, all very thoughtful reconstructions of the original tracks, making this more like 1.5 EPs in one. You absolutely can’t go wrong with this compilation EP and if MBC keeps up like this I think we can safely say they will quickly be one of the most watched labels in the genre! This release is scheduled for March 2021, so it might be best to bookmark it.
DJ DESOBEDIENTE :: Excepción 2020 EP
The second release from Massage Brain Cult is an interesting and unusual gem from June 2020. I’m not really sure how this fledgling label would progress from the widely varied braindance themes of their first release, and this was an unexpected surprise. Although at a very low level, percussively and stylistically braindance—this is a very lush keyboard meditation, somewhere between pop music and Selected Ambient Works-like ambient territory. Some very lush pads and slow, soothing melodies (from Mars?) fill out this relatively long EP and always seem to border on exploding into chaotic drill and bass but never do. An unusually restrained take in what’s generally a more-is-better genre.
