Punch Music’s dedication to the emotion and energy of 90’s techno is proved once again with Yariv Bernstein’s “Tandem” EP, this time with the intensity knob turned up all the way and broken off. The dark days of techno are here again, and with all irony intended the future looks pretty bright.
“Tandem,” the title track, is a chaotic assembly of electro bass, hand claps, flute and some undetermined member of the woodwind family. It’s as scary as it is seductive, kind of like Tijuana. Dan Drastic comes in to clean up the town for the remixes with a more progressive and with more familiar builds, keeping the intensity without being as raw as the original. The second track, “Bardo” leaves the city behind and goes straight to the jungle night, and aside from tribal drums and horn, birds are the only instrumentation. Jonty Skruff’s remix is pure dancefloor gold, thundering drums, chopped vocals and a steady build that would peak out a shamen. “Pact” is an over the edge, tech-industrial ode to 8-bit sounds and acid trips that screams warehouse.
This is an intense EP from what looks like a pretty intense label. Definitely for the discerning fans of techno with refined taste, this EP goes the distance in sound, creativity and depth.
Available now on Juno.
Stalk Magnetic