- "Made in a basement, for a basement." That's the tag line I might invent if I was trying to sell the first release on Berlin imprint K209. Thankfully for everyone involved, I wasn't asked to do so. "Going Forward" really is basement music, though. From beat one, the title track stomps along, with bowel-shaking kicks and rusty percussion. The hats don't hiss; they screech like an old metal gate swinging back and forth. This obvious dance floor focus makes the breakdown all the more perplexing. It's a long, quiet recording of ambient restaurant noise. Floor-killingly long. Where most breakdowns serve to offer some extra emotion, heighten whatever follows, or perhaps just showcase musicality unmarred by a dictatorial kick, the purpose here is unclear. In my mind's eye, I can see that moment where a deflated crowd stands still to look at the DJ and wonder what happened. When the beat does return, it's superfluously accompanied by the words "going forward," which intone over and over.
If you're old enough to remember dial-up internet, the idea that "Diffusion" sounds like a chorus of modems will make sense to you. Like some of Autechre's later work, getting over the noise factor to hear the thought behind it can be tough—but it's there. Steering a course between this and the stark minimalism found on the A-side, "Slate Grey" is probably the most impressive. Again, thundering kicks provide a backdrop for light industrial noise and gloomy drones. If you live somewhere with a similarly-inclined DJ, you can bet it's coming to a basement near you soon.
Tracklist A K209 - Going Forward
B1 Milton Bradley – Diffusion
B2 Henning Baer – Slate Gray