Eleventh release on Berlin label du jour Mobilee arrives from Exercise One, who’ve had a couple of releases on Lan Muzik (who have opened a café in Berlin, by the way) and one before on Mobilee.
The 16th bass notes in ‘Debaya’ prove that the tranciness of ‘United Elements’ with Donato Dozzy was no passing fancy, but the signifiers of minimal techno are all over this, brittle pots and pans percussion, detuned male vocals – it’s only when the former fades out that the groove has a chance to really shine. This is techno in the sense that it’s music made out of the effects rack, the melody is a pitchshift, but in the end it’s too Minus for home listening, and too stiff to please the dancefloor. Please wiggle more.
On the flip ‘Flight Cancelled’ the tranciness is gone and it slows down and shakes nicely. But what’s Berlin’s fascination with gamelans? That shit is painful. Here there’s less emphasis on upper register clangs, and when they do appear, they fold into a pearl of a groove. Phew. It might be too slow for some, but there’s a touch of Konrad Black louche to this one with a nice stretched note giving it warmth and build before it settles in at around hip level, which is where it should be. Nice and sleazy.
Overall, I'm a fan of bass tranciness, but the groove on the B wins the beauty contest just because it's sexier. One for the after hours or perhaps slap it on at home when you bring your special friend over to play.
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