- After several years of making sleek, big-room techno—mostly on his own label, Mikrowave—Kevin Gorman took time off, spent a year in Vietnam and re-emerged as the house-leaning Adesse Versions. In 2013, the mournful, Ryuichi Sakamoto-sampling "Baayi" was compellingly tender, but Adesse Versions' most striking material is more forceful. Last year's "Pride" featured sullen piano chords and staccato Chaka Khan syllables that were as percussive as they were melodic. That's What Friends Are For channels that energy, and in doing so edges further into Gorman's techno past.
The title track's monologue (including lines like "He's in my blood, he's in my guts and my soul") matches the jet-black tone of Gorman's warehouse-rattling quasi-techno. It's still some distance from his pre-Adesse Versions music—the bass synth, in particular, is springy and diffuse in a way that offsets the steeliness of "That's What Friends Are For." There's a dub version for DJs who find the vocal too flinty.
Gorman also revisits old techniques on the B-side, where he does a better job blending his musical personas. Letting dub techno fragments bob among loose rhythms, "In The Sticks" nails a distinctive sweet spot between house and techno. Dense chords help anchor Gorman's constellation of hand percussion, giving the track a solid punch. It's strong enough that you barely notice the kick drum's absence on "In The Sticks (No Kick)."
TracklistA1 That's What Friends Are For
A2 That's What Friends Are For (Dub)
B1 In The Sticks
B2 In The Sticks (No Kicks)