A lovely slice of techno with promising hints of future developments from Mikkel Meyer.
Too often one see a Teutonic name on a release and expects dark, minimal thumping or gloppy, meandering generative music from the tracks within. Diamonds by Mikkel Mayer is a refreshing alternative to that expectation. Fortunately he’s Danish so we know it’s good quality right off the bat (DISCLOSURE: this reviewer is a bold Danish brother and proud of it!). Meyer’s approach is more stripped down from his previous Jolly EP, with a heavy dose of acid lingering around the edges. But not acid circa ’67; think aciiiiiiiiiiid circa ’88.
“Simli” is a pretty intro—slow growing, then developing nicely. Think of a slow drive on the highway in summer, it expands nicely with 303-like bass swirls and swelling chords. Slightly reminiscent of Alphaville’s Sounds Like A Melody. While it dips into acid house territory there’s a much deeper sense of actual—dare I say—songcraft going on here which works just fine for Meyer and at times it’s not unlike his fellow Scandinavian Trentemøller. “Plastic” is slightly harder hitting, driving with penetrating chords; more 303 sounds with a bit of reverb snap to them. Chord progressions abound here with some very nice modal changes. This has both dance floor and solid musical appeal to it. Nicely moving without any trace of possibly EDM corruption. Meyer’s got a great handle on build and beats without appealing to the molly cropping crowd. “Conflict” continues the EP’s melodic, upbeat progression and has a groove that ends all too soon right towards the end—it develops strongly with some nice hooks and twists along the way. “Fake” begins with some atmospheric chords and 808 beats that shifts into a gorgeous and gently driven workout.
Overall, Diamonds is a lovely slice of techno with promising hints of future developments from Mikkel Meyer.
Diamonds is available on Rump. [Bandcamp]
