★★★★☆
It’s not customary to split hairs with someone like Cari Lekebusch, the inexhaustible techno tactician from Sweden. His latest is a double album of pure techno that won’t give you as much as a passing look, the kind of dance floor hog that holds grudges like its firstborn and takes holidays in black holes. Without hammering out a senseless template it slyly expands minds, refusing to relinquish its grip on your grey cells.
The lack of deviation, or dutifully sticking to a game plan, means the most conspicuous tracks — only a couple of them — are easily identifiable because they buck the trend of a procession blurring into the same dark hue. It’s far from a scientific discovery: whereas the system moves from left to right, the harder funker “Boiling the Frog,” the jumpier “Ghost Notes” and the dubbed-out finale “Vanishing Act” go up and down. Lekebusch is conducting by producing ‘live’ and manipulating block bars of sounds, adding what’s available on the run as and when (“Black Diamond” bears a discernible riff in isolation).
No good for home listening? Hmm, harsh, but given this mission statement, maybe true. Maybe Lekebusch’s transitions and weight differences are too subtle for their own good. A split decision? Try telling that though to techno heads briefed on Lekebusch’s insularity – they’ll be more than happy to accept the hybrid label.
File under: Braincell, Alexi Delano, Mystic Letter K