(12.22.06) If you dig electro, you can’t overlook Satamile Records, a US label once based in NYC and now settled in San Francisco that hire artists from all over the world to make you move in the club and enjoy fine music when at home. Their roster (currently) includes Decal (Ireland), Lowfish (Canada), Umwelt (France), Silicon Scally (UK) and many others.
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BYTECON :: At The Robodock (CD/2LP)
This is one of the latest offerings from Satamile, and it’s a record that slaps you in the face since the very beginning. The opener “Robots Ready For Mars” is in fact a razor sharp tune, with a hyperspeed two-step beat at almost d’n’b tempo and a growling bassline that leaves you breathless; you can only chill down a bit during the brief “Worm Intruder,” because “Rasor” is another explosive tune, heavily contaminated by cybernetic rock, with guitars and vocals that sounds both cheesy and captivating. Then comes the title track, and it’s hardcore breakbeat electro at its best, where tons of vintage samples are dropped over a stiff rhythm. “100 Percent Pure Adrenalin” does exactly what it says on the tin, with a rushing beat dipped in a spacey Kraftwerk / Afrika Bambaataa reminiscent setting. “A Travesty Without A Remedy” is slow paced, noisy and acidic and would be the perfect soundtrack to a dystopian sci-fi movie, while the more joyful “Evacuation Order” sounds more like a robotic b-boy battle. From “Twilight Shadows” At The Robodock begins to fade with a mood that it’s more electronic than electro, melodies become prominent and melancholic background casts its shadow on less heavy beats.. well, apart from “Feeding The Sharks,” that is indeed very epic but still rests on a throbbing kick-snare couple. At The Robodock reworks classic old school electro with a modern taste, skilled production and a wicked dancefloor attitude, quite akin to Umwelt’s Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation, plus there are a couple of absolutely instant hits (“Robots Ready For Mars” and “Feeding The Sharks”) that could be worth the purchase alone.
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SILICON SCALLY :: Dark Matter (CD/2LP)
While writing this review, already released would be a new Silicon Scally LP called Bioroid (obviously on Satamile!), and having heard bits of it I can say that Dark Matter sees Carl A. Finlow warped and murmuring more than ever. The opening “Toneworks” features some rocking synths, but the beat is almost tapped, and immediately after “Pace” freezes the atmosphere with slow, muffled tempo and minimal melodies bruised by buzzing interferences. “Parallel Array” is a futuristic, epic journey. “Indefinite Space” is built around a twisted breakbeat quenched by layers and layers of synthesizers, and even the frantic rhythm of “Ghost Wires” is dilated by the sparse floating bleepy sounds. The title track is an intricate maze of sci-fi machinery, from R2-D2 whistles to dramatic tones and finally rusty keyboards reminiscent of techstep jungle; overall, the surrounding created by Dark Matter sounds much like the exterior of a space outpost: fascinating, technologically advanced, moving with unrelenting slowness while you’re suspended in a void with an underlying sense of menace. You can feel this hidden fear especially in the heavy bass flow of “Autoload” or with the alien frogs embedded in the analogue pond of “Clone Alone.” Surely one of the most imaginative works by Silicon Scally, Dark Matter will be the perfect soundtrack to your cyborg fancies, definitely the most home listening and less dancefloor shaking record of this bunch of reviews.
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DECAL :: Release Through Velocity (CD/2LP)
It’s all about velocity here, Decal start this record with full throttle: “Surge” hysteric bleeps jitter over a breakneck beat, in contrast to steady, warm bass tones, and “64 Guns” accelerates to ludicrous speed with one of the most catchy basslines ever heard, supported by a sub-low sine, tapping acid and dramatic strings. After this combo of seminal tunes, the atmosphere becomes more eerie with the floating “Recall Edit” and the sad, detuned chirping of “in Defence Of Loyalty,” before swerving again to the underwater bubbling beats of “Final Statement.” These latter tracks show some affinities with Two Lone Swordsmen, and indeed Decal released Brightest Star on their Rotters Golf Club label, which is another great electro album, but Release Through Velocity is more focused, clocking at 50 minutes and avoiding mellow detours. “The Tide Will Turn” and “Of The Present” are switched on the CD tracklist, the first features a lightweight rhythm overwhelmed by generic synths, while the latter has got all the numbers to be a hit single, from the vocal hook to the charming pop arrangements of bass and bleeps, definitely an overlooked classic. Closing track is called “A Happy Home” but I find it more melancholic than happy, it’s definitely moving, with spine-chilling strings and a vibrating bass. Release Through Velocity has always been a favourite of mine, and I will continue playing it obsessively until Decal puts out something more wicked. And this will be a hard task.
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ELECTRO MUSIC SPECIALISTS :: Synchronaut (CD)
Synchronaut cover art illustrates with nerd fancy the links between electro music and science (fiction), with photos of Electro Music Specialists’ studio equipment described by obscure technologic terminology. This intimate connection is reprised also with track titles, such as “Close Encounters,” “Colonized,” “Spyware” or “Ellipticophasic.” As for the music, “Close Encounters” vibrates at frequencies so low that it gives the feeling of a subterranean creeping menace, “Get Ghetto” and “Pit_lounge_eur” bring the funk with Detroit style keyboards, “Spyware” relies on deep bass pulses and a straight snare to keep the breakers on the floor, while the slow paced acid “Rhythmus Machine” will shatter many woofers with a giant synthetic bass and almost inaudible subs (play loud if you dare!). “Gi-ne-tik” goes again back to the basics, on the opposite “Ellipticophaisc” is rattling, buzzing and bubbling tune with crisp drums and dense analogue flows, and finally the last “Illusion Mode” closes with rolling percussions and spacey bleeps, finishing a record that is finest electro for the most demanding purists.
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All releases (above) are out now on Satamile.
