- Depending on where you are in the world and how you consume electronic music, Forbidden Planet might mean any or all of three things to you: a bi-monthly radio show, a monthly clubnight in Montreal and/or a record label. Since 2013, label boss Jurg Haller has released six EPs of classically-rooted techno from the likes of Boreal & Lnrdcroy, D'Marc Cantu and Mono Junk. For the seventh release, Haller takes a break from A&Ring to put out the label's first reissue: four tracks of hard, spacey techno from Frankfurt's Marc Trauner, AKA The Mover.
These tracks were originally released between 1991 and 1993 on Planet Core Productions, the long-defunct imprint Trauner ran with Thorsten Lambart. A wildly prolific producer, Trauner used the label as a platform for his myriad aliases, putting out acidic techno as Mescalinum United, breaks-y IDM as Whalekommittee and a lot more besides (his Discogs page lists more than 100 aliases). The Mover, a name Trauner still uses today, is where he explores the nether regions of no-nonsense techno.
Given the wealth of music at his disposal, Haller chooses brilliantly. Opener "Waves Of Life" is a thuggish warehouse cut that matches slamming kicks and riotous synths to a chorus of clamours. Think Head High, but more angry. The drums on "The Emperor Takes Place" are rougher still, their coarse stomp accentuated by clangs and a wonderfully funky synth line. The only complaint is that it's over in less than three minutes. On the flip, "Nightflight (Nonstop To Kaos)" is the kind of cosmic track you imagine a young Sven Väth hammering at Omen, all thick synth slashes, eerie bleeps and relentless groove. "Mesmerize," the final and shortest cut on the EP, is also the harshest on the ears. Those who like techno turned up past 11 may find something in this, but it was a little too much for my tastes.
TracklistA1 Waves of Life
A2 The Emperor Takes Place
B1 Nightflight (Nonstop To Kaos)
B2 Mesmerize