Brothomstates ‎– Rktic

I have no CLUE how this is only rated 4.03/5 on Discogs ... easily one of the best 12"s ever released by Warp

Truly an ass-kicking record. The title track is OK, but "Matala Bobo" is absolutely spectacular. Slowly building, laid-back tech house. Awash in gorgeous synth chords and a soaring melody, layered with vocal samples that fit perfectly. This is perfect workout music too -- I listen to it whilst riding my bike and it never fails to push me.

Man, I wish this guy would come out of hiding and make some more of this!

One of my favorite Techno 12" releases ever. "Rktic" specifically, leaves me breathless everytime that I come back to it. Unlike a lot of idm/techno it has aged very well over the years, in my opinion. Oh yea, then there's the B-side... A spectre-like diva moaning over a shuffling hi-tech house beat is very simple, but very eerily effective.

There really isn't much more to say than I suggest you pick it up if you ever see it on a shelf or in a bin somewhere.

Tasty release from Lassi Nikko. Kind of atmospheric, just a bit on the minimal side. Sounds like he's going back to using hardware. There's a bit of a dub element to both tracks with some tasty midrange-heavy brothomStates delay which is nothing new to his work, but is a bit more prominent here. Both seem a bit more dynamic than his earlier stuff, at least in the sense that they both build up to a climax, and a nice juicy climax at that in both cases.

The first track has textures a bit like trance but it's not the normal four on the floor beat. The beat, however, is nice and fat, if not quite as club friendly as the beat on the other side. Very rich flavour, thick, fat sounds. Some ecstatic, tremolo'd out pads segue into the climax here, a distorted kind of 303 type arpeggio (sans acid squeals).

The other side is laid down on a standard house beat, a little bit chunkier and dirtier (and more minimal) than the first. Slightly spooky, nostalgic melodies and lush, reverby atmospherics. Recurrence of that kind of late 80s anime vibe kind of like the set he did with Crankshaft that was available at his website. Distorted female vocal slinks around in the space between the delays. Dubby synth-chirps foreshadow the climax at 4:00, when the song breaks down into just the beat with some nice sunshiney pads that start out sounding like gramma's dusty old jazz organ and then elevate into a waterfall of light.

Very funky stuff compared to earlier brothomStates. Not nearly as cerebral or serious as his other stuff - maybe he found a special someone? Even so, it's still thoughtful and well crafted while maintaining that futuristic but still human, handmade (or at least hand-tracked) brothomStates touch.