- It's easy enough to think of Cache Records as synonymous with Pacou. No doubt, the label founder's sonorous chords and thunderous kicks have knocked more than a few out of the park for the venerable publishing house. But I'd argue that the label's particular take on Detroit is most exciting when the visitors are at-bat. The latest guest to step to the plate is Pittsburgh's Shawn Rudiman. Opening track "Go Forward - Come Back" capitalizes on the sort of cavernous depths and chrome finish you expect from one of Pacou's dubbier tracks, or maybe Mike Huckaby (himself a Cache alum). Rudiman traps his broken chords under a canopy of tangled, textured percussion, and then soaks everything in delay. The dense sound design is familiar, but there's something particularly humid about it this time, and as I catch myself thinking that I've just heard howling wind and a distant animal cry, I'm reminded of just how enveloping and organic techno can sometimes be.
But immersive environments aren't the only things on Rudiman's agenda. "No Limits" has a similar density and depth, but its emphasis is more on searing acid grooves. To catch that, though, you'll first have to break through the frenzied neon streaks of pitch-shifted synths darting across the track's surface in much the same way they do in Derrick May's "Icon." "Maybe Someday" switches to an emotive deep techno palette of excellent vintage, and it's no less generous with melody. Almost placid at the beginning, its gusts of synthetic strings and gently cascading keyboards are barely anchored by echoing handclaps. But then comes the overheated Göttsching-styled strumming to add an electro urgency that really gets the track surging. Not too tough, really, to see where all this classic techno craftsmanship fits into Pacou's idea of techno.
Tracklist A Go Forward - Come Back
B1 No Limits
B2 Maybe Someday