Thomas Chrome* – Burned Out

A great, although by this day and age mainly forgotten debut album by swedish electronic music mastermind, Thomas Krome. Though today mainly remembered for the "Bitches from hell 12" and the Shockabuku releases, people tend to forget Burn Rubber Burn, which is - in all honesty and simplicity - the track which single handedly placed mr. Krome in the center of the map, literary over night. A never ending, groovy as hell loop endlessly bouncing all over a deep kick and dense bass line. Techno of the highest order. Those who were around at the time will remember it was a regular cut weekend in and out. The sound was imitated by many, but none quite matched the distinctiveness Krome had. Something which would follow him for the whole time during his carrer as Thomas turned to gold most of the stuff he touched, and was nobody's match.
But be not worried, the album is not a one trick pony, with twelve filler tracks, or worse yet, twelve tracks built around the formula of the lead single's success. He gives us a taste of everything from straigh up, loopy and hard hitting techno (Burning Chrome, Groovy Scissors, Brainsucking TV Screen and Dead DJs Don't Dance Doom Disco), atmospheric and dark ambience with sinister and tweaked out laughs (Phu Und Nasse), more experimental broken beat orientated electronics (Broken Dish - check that neck snappin' drum kick out, Bonus Beats, Hardware - swing your body along to those electrocuted sequences and the robotized vocal), and then ending the album with a surprise twist, bringing two numbers where he experiments with live acoustics, real instruments. Just listen to Green Groovy Grass, and the way in which those gentle piano keys interact with the deep and thick bass line. And the drums are most probably played live as well, on that track as well as on the closing tune, Thanxx, where some spooky leads are layed over a throbbing, speaker piercing bass line, as an intriguing female voice utters out who knows what. It actually sounds mysterious enough that numerous times have I attempted to decipher her talk, but it was all futile. Maybe if I knew swedish...

Overall, this isn't a classic album, but for unknown reasons remains very neglected in techno circles. Thomas Krome has always been among my favorite producers, and one of the motives why was his phenomenal ability to master so many aspects of techno music in such a short time span. While "Burned out" never quite reaches the standards and the remarkable musical achievements he would end up accomplishing under his own Corb imprint, this is still one hell of a solid album. At the very least, it is an outstanding overview of mr. Krome's pre Corb career, and while according to many, this is far from being as memorable as some of his later, darker work, I dare anyone not to jump all over their room to the sounds of Burn Rubber Burn or Groovy Scissors. As far as the former, it has been remixed by almost every respectable swedish techno producer, canned to death by Thomas himself, copied but never equalled, and as far as my honest opinion goes, I think this album is worth owning on the strength of the countless moments of joy that track has brought me throughout the years! Very good album, although I wouldn't really recommend it to anybody who thinks he'll get a CD surface loaded with clones of Electrobitch, Demolition Disco and Soul Collector. Although, in my humble opinion, Burn Rubber Burn is not a single inch behind those masterstrokes!

A little curiosity. When you remove the CD from its tray, there is a little inscription on the black sleeve. It says:
"Eat shit and drink drummachines & u will become a rhythm maker."