by John Bush
Arguably the most underrated electronic album of 1994, Visions of the Past alternates between songs of uptempo trance beauty and slower ambient cuts so sinister that the flesh crawls. The best example of the former is &Aqua Viva,& a 12-minute dolphin epic with dolphin sounds; of the eerie tracks, &Northern Dark,& &Dream or Reality& and the title track are the most paranoid.

As a member of pioneering minimal/dub/techno outfits Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound, Moritz Von Oswald has spent more than a decade imbuing machine music with human warmth. More recently, he's doing the opposite-- making warm bodies sound like machines.
Moritz Von Oswald Trio is his group of living, breathing musicians-- an all-star ensemble that also includes Max Loderbauer (NSI, Sun Electric) and percussionist Sasu Ripatti (Vladislav Delay). It's a unique concept: a live band that performs minimalist dance music-- well dressed, clean-shaven, and ready to jam.
Horizontal Structures is the group's second studio LP, following a debut, Vertical Ascent, and a live album recorded during an appearance at New York's Le Poisson Rouge. As with the trio's previous output, the compositions on Horizontal Structures are entirely improvised. The record's four long, languid tracks all stretch more than 10 minutes. But the group uses that freedom sparingly. The music has no solos and no dramatic shifts in tempo. A steady pulse-- typically a drum machine or sequenced pattern-- is introduced, then embellished upon using live instrumentation and effects. It's tonal, but never directly melodic. In fact, individual expression of any sort is extraordinarily disciplined-- limited to modest knob tweaks and percussion fills. Like Von Oswald's work with Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound, the music makes heavy use of extended repetition. The tracks may be jammed out on the fly, but the results are tightly governed by the trio's shared affinity for minimalism.
But reserved and mechanical as it is, Horizontal Structures is a very warm record. Von Oswald and his regulars soak the music in reverb and atmosphere. This time around, additional musicians augment the trio-- Paul St. Hilaire (aka Tikiman) on guitar and Marc Muellbauer on double bass. Both toss a few swatches of dubby riffage and jazzy rumbling into the mix, as on "Structure 2", which pours glassy drones atop a percussive sequencer pattern and Rhodes piano tinkles. The mood is similar to electric-era Miles Davis, minus the fury. "Structure 3" and "Structure 4" make use of more traditional dub-techno elements-- burbling echo, reverb spikes, and phased hi-hat chatter-- but keep the pulse relaxed. "Structure 1" is an anomaly-- a loose, surprisingly abstract meditation that only gradually congeals into a rhythmic form. Though it's music is deeply informed by the club, Moritz Von Oswald Trio steers clear of hard kicks and bass. Where most live bands strive to deliver physical intensity, these guys headed down a different, more zoned-out path.
(source: pitchfork)

Recorded at Le Poisson Rouge, Bleecer Street, New York City, on 6 February 2010, during the Unsound Festival.
This is a limited edition 2xLP gatefold vinyl package includes a complimentary CD version of the album in a stamped paper envelope. The tracklist and track times of the vinyl and CD versions are identical.

作为历史悠久的电子音乐形式，Techno的出现改变了电子音乐格局并影响着俱乐部和跳舞文化发展。但是目前Techno的发展也进入了一个畸形的时期，越来越多DJ和制作人选择了Minimal和Tech House作为表现Techno音乐的手法，进而进入了对Techno的错误理解：前者是基于传统Techno的变种形态，并不能代表Techno音乐的全部形态，而后者在概念上和Techno音乐完全在两个领域，互不搭调。和上述两种风格兴盛相比，传统的Detroit Techno却有退回地下的趋势，而Hard Techno最近一直没有受到主流舞曲文化青睐。
值得庆幸的是这种境况似乎已经被一些老牌Techno艺人看到，他们开始着手扭转现在的局面，英国人Surgeon就是其中之一。作为上世纪英伦重量级Techno艺人的他担任了9月份Fabric的客座嘉宾主理了最新的第53集，为乐迷带来一道传统Techno大餐。
在极简音乐还没有像现在这般泛滥之前，Techno的存在的关键词就是速度、厚重和冷艳，超过130 BPM的节奏在现在多数艺人的作品里很少出现，而在10多年前，人们更愿意把自己扔进这样快节奏的舞曲当中释放自己，甚至当年疯狂推行Minimal Techno的Richie Hawtin也对老派Techno情有独钟，99年那张巨大Mega Mix Decks, EFX & 909叫人重新认识了高处不胜寒的加拿大人。事实上，在Techno尚未变成晦涩难辨的音乐以前，它就是一种情绪上的宣泄，不仅如此，早期的Techno音乐还孕育着电子舞曲分化、转型的基因。因此，在Techno万宗归一的时代能够听到这样一张混音唱片实属不易。
作品混音的手法宛如一次Radio Set，作品之间很明显能够听出叠加的痕迹，两段Intro过后，Dubstep的Bad Hands拉开音乐序幕，厚重的节奏鲜明的突出了这张专辑的风格--一张真正意义上的Techno作品。Surgeon在选曲上打破时间界限，任何衔接流畅的作品都纳入他的待选范围内，30首作品在72分钟内一一表现，英国人截取每一首作品的精华，干净利落地将音乐的高潮部分混合。前面几曲鲜明的鼓点表现力，更像是Dub作品，寥寥数笔旋律巧妙融合比起艰涩而不和谐的Minimal更具舞池杀伤力。
Agile Movement开始了Techno正题，没有Acid音效作支撑节奏为主的舞曲很容易让听众进入状态，为了避免单调的旋律让听众产生厌烦情绪，Surgeon在时间上做了控制。这部分最为耀眼的便是Robert Hood去年的作品Superman了，作为Detroit Techno的代表，美国人多年来坚持个人风格，为Detroit Techno发展鞠躬尽瘁。Superman比较之前加进了不少Acid的音效颇有怀旧气息，而Set中长达4分钟的展示看得出Surgeon对这首单曲的喜爱。
这张Fabric并没有按照某种既定模式安排作品位置，一阵摇摆Uplift之后，马上又转换成Dupstep，而采用Minimal元素也让专辑的价值近一步提升--专辑带给人们是立体化的Techno音乐，而不是这种音乐立方的一面。
另一处津津乐道的地方便是一些作品的Interlude部分，Surgeon刻意安排了自己作品的鼓点进去，等于给原单曲进行了二次创作。Ital Tek的Spectrum Falls本身走的是极简路线，在加进Klonk Part 1程式节奏之后增加了舞曲特色，令前后衔接更为自然流畅。
后半部分延续了前面的惊喜与热情，在Techno与Dubstep不断转换之间，Surgeon很好调理了各类元素微妙的平衡，确保它们将自身效果发挥到最佳，此外，House的加入既保持了音乐原来高能量的优点，又增加了表现形式，一举两得。而结尾Minimal的形式将先前音乐能量很好的吸收进来，听上去更为自然。
当一种音乐风格过于流行的时候需要其他音乐帮助调和，以便它能更好的流传下去，在Techno领域内，这种定律同样适用，30年河东，30年河西，或许若干年后以Detroit Techno为首的老派们再一次成为领头羊呢。

Tresor 096

Anthony Child claims that the inspiration for his seventh artist album came from using hardware to receive transmissions from far-flung galaxies. He then hooked up with astrophysicist Dr Andrew Read - a former collaborator - to work out the bewildering track titles. That's the concept. The reality is that From Farthest Known Objects is a dense, grainy work. It feels like Child has deconstructed or in some more extreme situations has hacked away at tropes like minimalism, clicks and cuts and dub step to reveal an inner, hidden world. On the first few tracks, this alternate reality resounds to a sluggish pace, amid the crackle and groan of cleaved percussion and tortured subs, but it gradually comes round to stepping, broken beat techno and lunging rhythms. That these also descend into pulverising walls of white noise and nausea-inducing frequency shifts at times also serve as a reminder that Child has tuned into something other or inner-worldly.

Catalog#: DTR 010
Format: Vinyl, 12"
Country: UK

Published by R&S Records. Marketed & Manufactured by R&S Records/Belgium.
Barcode: 5 411659 169225
Catalogue number (On Front/Rear): AMB 3922 CD
Catalogue number (On CD): AMB 3922CD
Note: track timings are taken from the artwork and vary from actual timings given on CD players.
The sample that gives track 8 its title is Gene Wilder in the movie 'Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory', although the line originally comes from a poem called 'Ode' by Arthur O'Shaughnessy.