- Aquarian makes floor-friendly techno, but he's never been part of the genre's establishment. He began on the weirdo New York label UNO and now puts out records through his own Hanger Management, where each release comes with recipes. (This time it's bourbon-glazed pork chops and sausage lentil stew.) A sense of humour and Aquarian's taste for flashy breakbeats set him apart from his peers, but his latest release pulls back into a more stripped-down approach that wouldn't be out of place on more conventional labels. But at around 133 BPM, these tunes are faster than your average DJ might feel comfortable playing.
"Hamburglar Helper" hides its hand until the very end. You'll only hear fragments of Aquarian's signature breaks in the main rhythm section, and the breakbeat blitz finale is all too short. Rather than his usual fireworks, Aquarian keeps things streamlined, encroaching on the big-room techno sound that "Snack ID" embraces. Forget the title—this one is pitch-black serious, with an intense build-up and a free-fall breakdown that makes it ideal festival fare. The Aquarian & Deapmash remix dares to be different. The breaks are back and strapped to a vibrating 16th-note kick pattern that rumbles like it's trying to dislodge tiles from the ceiling. It's the Aquarian we're used to.
Tracklist01. Hamburglar Helper
02. Snack ID
03. Hamburglar Helper (Aquarian & Deapmash's Deap-Fried Mix)