From the strange waters of UNO NYC comes another precocious unknown: Brooklyn producer Aquarian. Chris Leung makes barreling techno that shares a cartoonish violence with Blawan and a dark sense of poppy hedonism with Turbo's 2012 output. It's not terribly original, but your face will likely be too busy melting for that to matter.
"Obsidian" is of a piece with a very common kind of techno these days, with its out-of-time drums and dramatically reverbed woodblocks. But there's also something strangely exhilarating about it, because "Obsidian" kind of feels like the bus from Speed: if it ever stops, it's just going to fall apart (or blow up, I guess). So by the time it reaches its midsection, it's a black hole of cowbells and woodblocks billowing out every which way. Don't think cowbells could sound apocalyptic? Think again. The track is already a monster at 135 BPM, but Randomer ups it to a mind-numbing 150 for his remix.
"Motherisk" feels like by-the-numbers techno until an Amen break signals a descent into a hellish squall. If you're not pummeled into oblivion by the first two tracks, "Towerblock" offers respite when it reveals a sexy skip instead of brutish barbarism, but even this one is overtaken by a bassline that turns itself inside out amid an acid bath of handclaps.
