(08.10.06) Rephlex has always prided itself as one of the labels of electronic music.
Since its inception, over a decade ago in the wiles of Cornwall,
Richard D. James and Grant Wilson’s label has gone from strength to strength.
Back in the early 90s, the Aphex Twin’s co-imprint was the toast of the
underground music scene as it churned out killer releases by the likes of
Mike Dred, DMX Krew and Mike Paradinas to name but a few. Due to the mystery
the label shrouded itself in a veil, something that enticed many to the growing fans. Unknowns, like Bochum Welt ad Cylob, rose to stardom under the
tutelage of the Cornish imprint which would soon move to Britain’s capital
and infect the metropolis with Braindance. On moving to London the label’s
popularity grew, as did its number of releases and audience. Rephlex was no
longer some underground label of minute stature. Rephlex was now one of
Britain’s, and the world’s, main electronic music labels.
In recent years, the label has started to dabble in other music styles, such
as grime. But, the label’s core has always been electro and techno. It was
on this premise of making good techno and good electro that the label was
founded; a principal exemplified in the early years of the label with the
Kosmik Kommando releases and Drexiya EP. The label has continued to release
good quality electro, such as the Arpanet album of late. Once more, Rephlex
has tried its hand at what it was founded on with the release of Urban
Tribe’s Authorized Clinical Trials. Urban Tribe have had a host of
releases on Mo Wax and is a foursome of formidable credentials: Anthony
Shakir, Carl Craig, Kenny Dixon Jr (a.k.a. Moodyman and Sherard Ingram, a.k.a.
Mystic Tribe). But does Rephlex still know what makes good electro or have
they been bypassed by other labels?
On first hearing Authorized Clinical Trials the listener is immediately
hit by something, the simplicity of the tracks. In comparison to say Alden
Tyrell or Legowelt this style of electro seems amazingly basic. But do not
let this fool you, this is top notch minimal dub electro. The tracks are
simple, but that is what made early electro so alluring – its simplicity.
This is music made with elementary analog machines, something that Rephlex
has always been a proponent of. Not only this, but the men behind those
boxes are some of the most talented techno artists in the world. This album
is a transport beam back to the 90s electro scene, one of dark, dingy
clubs, sticky floors, deep bass lines and evil undertones. Authorized
Clinical Trials is an album loaded to the gills with dirty minimal electro,
simple beats and squelching sinister soundscapes reminiscent of Drexiya or
the Underground Resistance releases.
The album starts as it means to go on with “Microwave Energies,” a menacing
electro number with deep basslines, eerie tweaks and background drips. The
album moves into a more space-centered forum with “Axon,” a track of
futuristic emptiness reiterated throughout by echoing chords and a haunting
bassline. The album turns into a full on cryptic audio assault mode with
“Biohazard 17284” due to its vocoder lyrics and criminal synth lines.
“Biohazard 17284,” shortly coming out on an EP, wages a dirty electric war
on the senses with torrents of analog grit and sonic rays of synthesized
aggression.
“Transcription” breaks the album in two. A gentle dubby number that
refreshes the eardrums before they are once again submerged into a bath of
squalid electro grease that is “Amino Acid Sequence.” “Class Warfare” is a
guttural trek through the ghettos of a cold dark electropolis, with its
nasty chords, robo samples, cheeky turns and ominous presence that all make
for a disturbingly atmospheric track. The four man ensemble maintains the
mood with more deep electro-tech, a solid bass sound being a fundamental
component of the album’s make up. “RNA World” is a wonderfully mellow, synth
driven track with deep space lines and a real B12 Detroit feel. The second
half of the album has a much more laid back feel, and finishes in the same
relaxed mode with “Stop Codon.”
Authorized Clinical Trials is a well-rounded album that shows what such a
partnership of techno and electro masters are capable of. With simple
machines, perplexing melodies, intriguing lines and some moody turns, Urban
Tribe’s latest LP goes back to the roots of what made electro great. This is
cold computer music, perfect for low light dens and bright space stations.
With this release, Rephlex has proven that it has not lost its way when it
comes to good quality electro music. Authorized Clinical Trials is a
reminder to all electronic fans out there that the early 90’s electro sound
is just as good now as it was then, if not better.
Authorized Clinical Trials is out now on Rephlex. Buy it at Amazon.com.
