- Look no further for the global reach of minimal techno than Takuya Morita, the twenty-something Japanese wunderkind with releases on respected imprints like Frankie Rec, Morris/Audio, and Alex Under's CMYK. In fact, Morita's first release for the California-based Adjunct Records owes more than a little bit of credit to Under's influence. 'Woman and Shadow' is an overstuffed stormer, filled with the sound of a digitized horse gently clearing its throat, three (or four) competing melodies, and a pulsating bass that keeps everything on the move.
Jeremy P. Caulfield contributes a remix. He flattens the cut out and generally makes things a bit less confusing. Without that niggling bass, however, the incessant groove is lost, replaced by a light swing. It's nice to hear some of these elements in isolation, but then again, you may find yourself yearning for Morita and his ability to make them hum, twitter, and sing as I did.
Morita's does the first two of those things on 'Broken Memory,' but the track doesn't quite match up to the flip. Instead of overstuffed, 'Memory' is rote tech that sounds pretty damn content with itself. These are the worst sorts of tracks – the ones that immediately fade from memory after you hear them. Even after the tenth listen. Even so, with another winner like 'Woman and Shadow' to his credit and the admiration of high-profile remixers (Oliver Hacke appeared on Morita's last 12 inch), Morita should have the chance to take as much time as he needs to come back with a slab of wax that works on both sides.
TracklistA1 Woman And Shadow
B1 Woman And Shadow (Jeremy P. Caulfield Remix)
B2 Broken Memory