“But techno was designed to be dance music,” Jeff Mills told The Skinny in 2013, “it was designed to be a futurist statement.”
Mr. Mills’ word have often been re-hashed on social media and elsewhere to lament, in his eyes, the misdirection of techno in the past 15 years or so. However, it might be worth sending a select few EPs to the techno pioneer to illustrate the futurist techno dream is still alive and very much kicking.
DJ Koolt told us that he’s not really sure if there’s an Uruguayan sound, which is probably true. Lots of Uruguayan born producers are creating different types of music but a common thread does run through them, they’re often futuristic in sound and menacing in vibe.
Few labels have pushed this sound as much as My Own Jupiter, Nicolas Lutz’s label. The likes of Omar, Do Or Die and now Z@P with his Brutalismo EP have released on what remains one of the most creative and outgoing labels out there.
Those who regularly spend their weekends on dance floors will be relieved to hear the title track which has been teased by all the usual suspects. Z@P knows how to create a driving track without thrashing listeners ears with high BPMs, Brutalismo’s drums and claps inject the track with an infectious amount of energy whilst the dubby apocalyptic bassline is sure to delight those who like their music a bit darker with classic spine-tingling modular sounds throughout.
On the flip side, we have ‘We Control The Sound’ which is a great example of the atmospheric, downtempo techno and minimal that accompanies Nicolas Lutz’s early sets and lays the foundations for what’s to come. The melody is as haunting as it is introspective and the bassline subtly wobbling throughout makes for incredibly smooth listening. If it were to be categorised, We Control The Sound would probably go down as minimal, but it’s not really anything like any minimal being put into record shops at the minute, which is what makes producers like Z@P and co so exciting. There’s no conventional way or method to create a techno or a minimal track. Just the way it should be.
Z@P’s ‘Brutalismo’ EP is available via Juno, Decks or any good record shop of your choice.
More info on Z@P
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More info on My Own Jupiter
Facebook | SoundCloud | Discogs
