Customer Reviews

Hypercity

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Another mix disc by aficionado Andrew Weatherhall of Two Lone Swordsmen and Sabres of Paradise? Sign me up. Hold on, it's a stirred together collection of Germany's Force Inc and their sub-labels recent output (it appears). Meaning intricate, imminently danceable techno-meets-house is on order today, not the kind of music to grab the spotlight and run with it, but aptly suited to command your spirit all the same.

M.R.I.'s `To Be Honest' is a prime example of the operandi, with structured, building layers of muted drums and whispers, buried click-pops among the other surprises to peel back upon subsequent listens. Crane A.K.'s `Polsterplanet' rides a shimmering synth over darting hi-hats while Safety Scissors' `Form From Morf' seemingly spins back and forward sample snippets for a cool brain twister. Dirk Diggler's `Silverfinger' is spot-on spatial minimalism dropping the pace before, by golly, an actual full-blown song (`Tessio' by Vladislav Delay alias Luomo) ends the glide on a warm, fuzzy note.

There's not a bad track in the lot, and don't sweat the artist anonymity; if you recognize more than three anyway, it's time to join me in Music Junkies Anonymous. The term Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) having long been co-opted by the laptop warriors of the world and their fan base, I'm tempted to demand a moniker recall. `Hypercity' truly represents music designed for the hips and aimed at your head, while leaving the spastic, glitch-probing on the hard drive.

Andrew Weatherall, famous for being the producer to some of the most influential UK based acts, but here he casts himself behind the decks to remind everyone that he's also a celebrated DJ as well. The running time for this album is sufficient enough for each track to really stretch it's legs and impress, before the next track is brought in. The theme here is Minimal, with every track from "MrI's - To be Honest", "SCSI's - Middle of the way", "MrI's - Human Patterns" have a technical perfection that fuses the grooves of house music, with the minimalism of Detroit Techno, moving smoothly across the genres, and blurring the distinction between them, until all you are left with is just truly glorious music. A mix album for the more discerning, sophisticated dance fan.

This is definitly one of my favorite albums to sit down and write code to. I've owned it for a number of years. Still great stuff. If you like progressive chillout electronic ambient music, this album is for you!

About 6 Years later now and this CD is still mind blowing. Not much else to add. Seek this album.