- The conceit of Brothers—to pair up like-minded producers for one-off collaborations, and credit them only by their initials—might easily have proved limiting. But here we are, three years after the label launched, with a track from actual brothers Tessela and Truss, and the rave-techno talent remains abundant. BROS007 might be the label's widest-ranging record yet,, drawing its contributors from three continents. What unites them is their playfulness: with videogame bleeps and malfunctioning rhythms, these tracks opt for grubby mischief rather than out-and-out aggression.
London rabble-rousers Randomer & J. Tijn kick things off with the extremely irate "Exit 7." The savage efficiency of its groove is pure Randomer, but it's the constantly escalating energy levels, a J. Tijn trademark, that really carry it. A pair of tracks from New Yorkers Shawn O' Sullivan and Fifth Wall label head Gaul Plus get progressively weirder. "Cadillac Dog" is a half-collapsed, stuttering mess, only occasionally marshalling itself into a frenetic techno churn; "Torrid Affair VIP" is part industrial beatdown a la Vex'd, part punchdrunk electro stagger, and likely to wrongfoot even the most determined ravers. Power Vacuum boss Milo Smee and Japanese producer Hironori Takahashi conclude with the black sheep of the bunch. Bombast electro number "Brown Kijin" could be as nasty as the rest, but the smooth pads whistling through the rafters offer welcome relief.
TracklistA1 RW & TJ - Exit 7
A2 SO S/NJ - Cadillac Dog
B1 MS/HT - Brown Kijin
B2 SO S/NJ - Torrid Affair VIP