- Humanoid X is an 11-track album by Dallas, Texas, producer Blixaboy, and it's also an abridged EP. Both of Mwanza "Wanz" Dover's new records were released by Sheffield label Central Processing Unit, but only the condensed version made it onto this limited-edition vinyl. These four tracks are album highlights. Dover works with a chilly but rich electro sound that's as classic as it's sharply produced—low-end frequencies slip in and out of "Detroit Steel" so slyly that you can't be sure you even heard them, and "The Last Droid" splits the difference between Vangelis and Aux 88. The powerful contrasts of skeletal backbeats and rigid robo bass against lush, melodic pads is once again reinvigorated on Humanoid X.
This EP seems less like a teaser for the full-length than an invitation for DJs to take Blixaboy's tunes to the club. With its broken grooves and rampant atonality, "Rescue One" might be a bit too disjointed for the dance floor ("Masque," from the LP, would've been a stronger choice), but it's not hard to imagine the majestic funk of "Arctic" captivating any room that its vast, starry-eyed synths envelop. Without question, though, "Detroit Steel" will do the most damage. Sounding like Gesloten Cirkel paying homage to Kraftwerk, Dover seamlessly merges the mystery and ferocity of electro into his own immersive sound world.
TracklistA1 Artic
A2 The Last Droid
B1 Detroit Steel
B2 Rescue One