- The technoise movement has unleashed its fair share of eardrum scrapers over the last several years, yet few are as explicitly belligerent as Participation, the debut 12-inch from Miguel Alvarino. Even Container at his most intense ("Slush," from the Adhesive EP, for example) manages to maintain a sense of design and precision that nods to techno's reverence for functionality. Alvarino, in contrast, is far more interested in hijacking the formal elements associated with techno so he can unleash a mechanized assault that ultimately remains loyal to the loud, fast and aggressive ethos of the noise-punk continuum in which he operates.
To put it another way, the Brooklyn musician makes beats for headbangers, not ravers. This, he makes abundantly clear from the outset: "Pallet Cleanse" is 75 harsh seconds of wailing digital decay and looped crunch and nothing more. "Cess" and "Gummed," the other highlights, might be longer and more layered, but they're no less ruthless. The latter is pure muscularity, as the rhythm lunges and flails as though it were the undiluted expression of the producer's own tortured nervous system. The only piece that isn't 100% balls to the wall is "???," which lacks the force and excitement of the tracks around it. It's interesting, but Alvarino is best when churning out ragers.
TracklistA1 Pallet Cleanse
A2 ???
A3 Cess
B1 Gene Laquer
B2 Gummed