Cosmin Nicolae's career hasn't exactly been easy to follow, with the Romanian producer moving from straightforward dubstep on Subway to predicting the 2-step revival and inaugurating Hessle Audio to making UK bass-compatible house music on Rush Hour. To be fair, the results have been almost universally excellent, barring a slight misstep here and there.
His latest chameleonic transformation has him solidifying his techno turn on Modeselektor's often brutalist 50 Weapons label. A move towards "Berghain techno" might be cliché at this point, but Nicolae's take on it is refined and spacious. Dressing up old bleep techno in modernized scaffolding, "Fizic" polishes up its chunky foundation with incisive chords and synths that disintegrate and rain down in goopy washes. These kind of Night Slugs-esque melodic runs transplanted into such an austere setting are captivating, breaking up the monotony over the track's six minutes. "De Dans" is like a stylized Dehnert banger, frenzied chords fighting to rush past each other through harsh panning and a rush of dulled hi-hats. Cosmin TRG's techno isn't trendy but built lovingly from the ground-up with the kind of nuance and idiosyncratic flourishes that can only come from someone who seems to be making a career out of toying with conventions.
Buy Cosmin TRG - Fizic / De Dans at
  
Tracklist: Cosmin TRG - Fizic / De Dans
 A Fizic
B De Dans
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