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Field, The - Yesterday And Today - 12-Sep-09 12:45 AM
Those not won over by The Field up until this point should probably give him a second chance. "Yesterday And Today" carries some of the sublime that the debut was missing. It is clear that he has honed in on the best aspects of his debut and strengthened these with richer production. Ignore the first two tracks and just jump straight to "Leave It"; a retake on "The Deal" that surpasses it in every way, as if it had been blended with the smooth house of Luomo. The title track is the best track of the album, starting off similarly to "Everday" and "Silent", but (properly) finishing off with a brilliant drum and bass segment. Fans of the first album will no doubt love "The More That I Do", which starts off good, but then annoyingly locks loops for the remaining five minutes, much like most of the tracks on the debut.

"Yesterday And Today" represents a promising step for The Field, one which he can hopefully follow through on in the future.

D.Diggler - Silverfinger - 11-Sep-09 11:50 PM
Although Force Tracks went on to receive great acclaim with Luomo and MRI, there is nothing in D. Diggler's discography quite as brilliant as this single. Not quite as rough as his subsequent productions, the deep insistent groove and swirling atmosphere of "Silverfinger" make it a timeless relic of the first wave of microhouse. The tracks on the flip fall only slightly short of the brilliance of the A-side, but remain fine examples of the early Force Tracks style nonetheless.

D.Diggler - EM.Pulse - 11-Sep-09 11:20 PM
Since his first appearance on Resopal, D. Diggler's sound had slowly been shifting away from the more melodic, Force Inc inspired techno he had been peddling on Raum…musik to something more clearly in the tech-house vein. "EM.Pulse" represents not only the completion of that transition, but consequently Diggler's best full length to date. The album is presented as an even-handed mix which only seems to grow in intensity. There is a certain edge here that hasn't existed in his work previously, exemplified by tracks like "Odic Force", "Axiom" and "Through Hollow Lands", each of which are characterised by chugging grooves, random noises and little to no emphasis on melody. It's a sound that works brilliantly in Diggler's hands, and one which certainly continues to be pushed by Resopal. Highly recommended.

Various - 2 - 19-Apr-09 07:16 AM
The artists on EMD profile an extremely sparse sound, not dissimilar to Wolfgang Voigt's Studio 1 project. Unlike Studio 1, however, the artists on EMD manage to evoke unfathomable levels of claustrophobia and lifelessness in their productions. These qualities, although central to EMD's sound, are somewhat limiting, and they also serve to make this compilation incredibly tough to listen to, let alone enjoy. It is difficult to pinpoint any real highlights other than the two Kotai/Bader tracks, particularly "Welltick" - with its abstract lyrics and melodic minimal groove, it clearly stands out from the rest. Although the two tracks by Midnight Caller (Kotai's collaboration with Baby Ford) are brilliant (particularly "Third Kind"), they turn out as near-highlights on the disc, feeling buried by the equally dark-minded tracks which surround them.

Regardless of the sound and flow of this compilation, it is very exhaustive in its coverage of EMD's output and artists, making it the perfect introduction to this peculiar label.

Pluxus - Solid State - 20-Mar-09 05:45 PM
It's hard to listen to the Kompakt issue of this album and not put it in the context of Kompakt. It's been a really long time since they have so prominently issued previously released material from outside its usual circle of artists, at least since its humble beginnings. That said, the appearance of "Solid State" on Kompakt is perplexing only for that reason; given the label's slide towards towards more disco and new wave inflected sounds, it's right at home. Still, that shift in sound has always felt a bit like Kompakt trying to maintain its relevance; as a result, they have never felt like leaders in the sound. The appearance of "Solid State" on Kompakt emphasises that they too feel this doubt.

Now onto the album itself. At barely 40 minutes long and with virtually no standout tracks, it doesn't make for a particularly immediate or memorable work. There's a degree of experimentation throughout that seems to recall the days of early Kompakt's abstract funk and Mille Plateaux's click hop, but nothing here really takes it much further than that. In fact, the best track on the album is probably the least experimental-sounding; "Bootstrap", with its more straightahead feel, makes for the most evocative and enticing track on the album. The jaunty or otherwise awkward rhythms and structures throughout the rest of the album make every track somewhat irritating. Although "Transient" is nearly the worst offender in this department (excepting "Perm"), it has a certain charm and catchiness that make it somewhat interesting.

While "Solid State" doesn't bring much new to what already feels like a very tired style, it still manages to outperform most of Kompakt's similarly themed output, although only slightly.

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