Review by bhbognarMay 14, 2006(edited over 3 years ago)
Richie Hawtin's Concept 1 was treated to reinterpretation in 1998 by Thomas Brinkmann, setting an impressive pace with big-name conceptual techno talents. One might imagine that Akufen has big shoes to fill, especially given the very distinctive sound of the Concept 1 project, but he does so with a couple of complex, sprawling, mind-bending compositions. Both sides feature lots of space around the darkly familar Concept 1 sounds, but Akufen destabilizes the structures of the tracks in such a way that changes loops and sounds at each pass. In fact, the idea of the "loop" is whittled down to the basic notion of repetition--everything else keeps the listener guessing. The resulting ever-evolving, ever-shifting soundscape is a fresh take on an already timeless project. While this Forcept 1 project was rumored to comprise three releases, only this record has been released so far.