Traversable Wormhole - The Remixes Pt. 01

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  • If 2009 was the year that Adam X's Traversable Wormhole alias gained kudos among techno's underground—with a few shouts of support from dubstep DJs thrown in along the way—then 2010 could mark the project's transition to big-room popularity. Chris Liebing's CLR label has picked up the EP series for re-release and, in a move that accentuates the imprint's kingmaker role, it has commissioned a series of well-known remixers to provide new interpretations. Most importantly though, the re-releases should serve as a reminder of why the series won such acclaim. The original version of "Closed Timelike Curve" is as claustrophobically brilliant as its title suggests, with a muffled rumbling bassline gradually dominating the listening spectrum, accompanied by reverberating drum patterns. "When 2D Meets 3D" transcends the space between our world and a parallel universe; this is thanks in no small part to the use of eerie, Suburban Knight-style beats—there is a similarity to the sheer otherworldliness of "The Groove"—but also the sleek and somewhat merciless sheets of metallic percussion. Unsurprisingly, the zwischenwelt that "2D" documents is not a happy place, and the blast of hardcore-inspired riffing would put even the most seasoned techno traveler on notice. If you haven't heard this record before, buy it and listen to it on your own in a dark room for maximum effect. Fresh from reworking Samuli Kemppi and Dario Zenker, Peter Van Hoesen delivers a totally different version of "When 2D Meets 3D." Looking to the dense, shuffling drums of Klock and the metallic stepping rhythms of recent Frozen Border output, Van Hoesen delivers a functional version that nonetheless boasts a distinct identity thanks to a dank, tweaked acid line. However, it sounds positively polite—what wouldn't?—when played next to Marcel Dettmann's take on "Curve." Continuing the brutalist theme he began on "Apron," but shifting radically to capture the high-speed intensity of Luke Slater's Xtront releases, the squelchy, liquid bass is tethered to breeze block percussive jolts and a headlong, galloping tempo—a malevolent combination that will level a packed festival tent at 100 paces.
  • Tracklist
      01. Closed Timelike Curve (Marcel Dettmann mix) 02. When 2D Meets 3D (Peter Van Hoesen mix) 03. Closed Time Like Curve 04. Where 2D Meets 3D
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