I just wanted to say that I completely agree with the thoughts laid out by fellow reviewers here. There is no doubt that the second installment of the series was all the hype back then, and I'm the first to admit that I use swore by it, but the storm cooled off. The smoke cleared out. What are we left with? The B side of the first Zeta Reticula record. My god. This is ill, as in so ill you'll need a colonic irrigation therapy if your ass isn't using the club's walls as landing stripes. Not because it's hard or fast. It's elegant, soothing, groovy as the next best thing, and dubbed out on some freaked out electro high voltage current sound display that reverberates with shimmering confidence and unrestrained production delicacy. Don't get me wrong, not that I ever forgot I had this record, just believe me on this, it's precious shine got obscured by the absolutely blizzard of interest that the next Zeta Reticula would stir up.
Now, all I can say is the following. My ideal Zeta Reticula record is the A side from that one, and the B side from this one. He may have perfected the electro "walk" on the sophomore Electrix release, but this record's B side is easily one of Umek's top ten A sides, showing little signs of wear, presenting a pretty damn addictive version of dub techno, alla east European style. I cannot tell you how glad I am that this one stayed with me through time. This record is a confident statement of production maturity, creativity and an urge to experiment, although nudged by classic sound structures of the past. Its succesors would all bult upon the blueprin set here, and more or less would just be a variation of ideas already fully realized on this record. The B side here is some bad ass electronic music that makes me strike a still pose as it hits me with some ill flows. Anyone who drops a record this good has clearly eliminated all doubts as to their ability. Umek is a free man, can do whatever floats his boat, so it's pointless even going there. Good thing is that he left us with timeless excerpts of his musical path, such as this one. Worth its weight in golden ducats. Both the eerie and atmospheric electro workouts that grace the A side, but namely and above all, the phenomenal flip.
This EP is almost 20 years old but at the same time it’s just so enormously timeless. B1 is a freakin beast. If you need to find out if you are human after all, put a needle on that record and if you don’t immediately start to dance, take your bum out of here. Thanks to my man jay for remember me about this gem.
At the time of it's release (remember when Electrix was a new offshoot of Tortured and not a well-established label?) this was a real ear-opener for me. I was not familiar with Umek's work, and the B-side's bouncy, metallic funky techno tracks especially blew me away. Two tracks of dirty, funky, dancefloor oriented electro occupy the A-side, but B1 is my favourite - there's a real richness to the Basic-Channel styled techno stabs and a super tight snappy rhythm in the snares, but all tracks have that underground rawness and a dark, menacing overtone to get the hairs on the back of your neck tingling while your feet keep moving.
I just wanted to say that I completely agree with the thoughts laid out by fellow reviewers here. There is no doubt that the second installment of the series was all the hype back then, and I'm the first to admit that I use swore by it, but the storm cooled off. The smoke cleared out. What are we left with? The B side of the first Zeta Reticula record. My god. This is ill, as in so ill you'll need a colonic irrigation therapy if your ass isn't using the club's walls as landing stripes. Not because it's hard or fast. It's elegant, soothing, groovy as the next best thing, and dubbed out on some freaked out electro high voltage current sound display that reverberates with shimmering confidence and unrestrained production delicacy. Don't get me wrong, not that I ever forgot I had this record, just believe me on this, it's precious shine got obscured by the absolutely blizzard of interest that the next Zeta Reticula would stir up.
This EP is almost 20 years old but at the same time it’s just so enormously timeless. B1 is a freakin beast. If you need to find out if you are human after all, put a needle on that record and if you don’t immediately start to dance, take your bum out of here. Thanks to my man jay for remember me about this gem.
