Various - Cabinet Classics & Unreleased Classics 1994 - 2005

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  • For all his (often amusing) preoccupation with the very latest production and DJ technology, Richie Hawtin has always retained a healthy respect and deep understanding of techno's rich history - perhaps not surprising given his own veteran status. Plus 8 has provided us with some welcome 12" reissues in recent times, among them Lemon8's 1993 anthem 'Model8', but this double-CD dedicated to the catalogue of Berlin's Cabinet Records is a considerable extravagance. Is it justified? In a word, yes. Cabinet was founded in 1996 by Daniel Paul; its core artists were Compass, Horseshoe and Cab Drivers. These producers are hardly household names, at least not in this reviewer's household, and repeated listening to 'Cabinet Classics' suggests that, taken as individuals, their status is unlikely to change. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the sum of their efforts under the Cabinet umbrella is utterly formidable and demanding of hefty praise. This double CD documents the refinement of a terse and minimalist but thrillingly direct techno aesthetic, and serves as a reminder of just how far our '06 minimal model - all swinging, syncopated, (delightfully) fussy grooves - is from the grievously honed simplicity of Cabinet's first-wave expressions of the form. The first disc is comprised solely of tracks by Horseshoe, Compass and Cab Drivers, all of whom impress not just with their exquisite sound design but with their robust sense of shape and melody. Indeed, it is testament to their dancefloor understanding and skill for arrangement that even the sparsest, most industrial tracks sound anything but bleak. Standout tracks include Compass's 'Gliding' and Cab Drivers' sinewy 'Steam'. The real interest, though, is disc 2, which assembles ten previously unreleased gems for the pleasure of the curious and the completist alike. Horseshoe kick off proceedings with 'Bassfunk', a propulsive dancefloor bruiser driven, as its title suggests, by an irresistibly wobbly bassline, and lashed with Plastikman-esque 303 lines. It's not so much ahead of its time as simply timeless, and as with the other tracks that make up the compilation, the only real date-stamp is the hissing prominence of the hi-hats. That said, one could imagine this track being frictionlessly woven into a set by Luciano or Hawtin tomorrow and bringing wide-eyed glee to their dancefloors. Like Daniel P's 'Discomadley', 'Bassfunk' strips down techno to its stomping, acid-fried essence and so is unlikely ever to truly grow old. Cab Drivers' 'Selbstausloser' incorporates warm Detroit-style chords but they are softened and submerged to the extent that you can barely hear them, benevolent ghosts trapped between the brittle, linear beats; elsewhere basslines are so elastic and acid squelches so exuberant that the onset of gloom or monotony is never a concern. For existing fans of Cabinet, it all but goes without saying that this package is essential. Additionally, anyone interested in minimal's tangled lineage, or simply in techno at its purest and most forthright, will find plenty here to enthral and entertain.
  • Tracklist
      CD1 - Cabinet Classics 1 Compass - Gliding 2 Cab Drivers - Elwico 3 Cab Drivers - Arcade 4 Horseshoe - Honey (edit) 5 Compass - Cab Driver 6 Horseshoe - So Closed (edit) 7 Compass 3 - Citylights (edit) 8 Horseshoe 2 - Collage 9 Compass 3 - Messinger (edit) 10 Compass 3 - Rainy Day 11 Cab Drivers - Steam CD2 - Unreleased Classics 1 Horseshoe - Bassfunk 2 Cab Drivers - Selstausloser 3 Ons Project - Michele 4 Cab Drivers - Live At E-Werk 5 Dj Trike - Turbulenz 6 Daniel P - Discomadley 7 Todd Bodine - Mool (edit) 8 Dj Trike - Acid Dream 9 Compass 4 - Moonlight 1557-08 10 Karo Zwo - Two Strangers
RA