Various - Panic In Detroit

Some compilations are made to be 'dancefloor', other will be made to last, or (what people like to call so much) 'stand the test of time'. These second ones will be those remembered many years from now for a very basic reason: their music has the essential purpose of being music, of being ART - instead of fulfilling predictable-formulaic parameters.

In the biennial of 1992-1993, many Souls were touched by the impact of two ground breaking compilations from the Belgian label Buzz - "Panic In Detroit" (1992) and "Virtual Sex" (1993) which exposed part of the very influential hi-quality Detroit Techno culture in Europe (a name for a whole movement that has been largely spread and often (mis)employed whose roots lie on electronic sounds made with an accurate sense of rhythm, Soul and passion, though under the futuristic science-fiction perspective).

The result is an amazing selection of tunes forged by true artists such as Juan Atkins, Eddie Flashin’ Fowlkes and the younger Kenny Larkin, but also people who shared that type of sounds outside Detroit: John Beltran, Mark Wilson, Dan Curtin, A Guy Called Gerald. It’s the kind of LP where the most intense listener gets amazed by the out of ordinary synthesized timbres, rhythms and chords on them; 'Panic In Detroit' brought back in 1992 that broader and wilder shape of Techno to the old continent, no shadow of a doubt, a privilege left to very few releases in history.

Most of all, this compilation selected by Damon Booker (also known as DJ Blackout, the same person behind the edits of MK & A Guy Called Gerald’s tunes on Retroactive) had exclusive music, such as Eddie Fowlkes’ "O.C.C" and "Pure Afro Sound" (which made a clever use of Gwen Guthrie’s vocals on ‘Padlock – Peanut Butter’), as well as Inertia’s "Satisfaction", an example of futuristic aesthetic introspectiveness, and Lucky Charm’s "Double X-posure", a track by the super-talented Dan Curtin, the same name behind Prototype.

I had the chance to discover "Panic In Detroit" back in 1993 when I was introduced to a French guy, Cedric Huet, who was deeply into the underground sounds. Though this LP, I could hear for the first time music from people like Dan Curtin, John Beltran and Flashin’ Fowlkes.

I have submitted the Promo release which only gave the tracklistings but not the artists. This came in a plain white cover with Panic In Detroit stamped on the front. 1992 was a great year for techno as a whole, and this LP along with the various 12" Samplers were some of the most emotional music from that period. It was elusive and sought after back then and still is 12 years on. Model 500's Dimensions has been re-released this year on the Subject Detroit label and been renamed Idea 1 which is a slightly longer version..