Sometimes, looking back to the tracks that have been most inspirational yields very interesting results. In the last couple of years these four tracks stood out and share a deep sonic connection. All artists produced
music in the early/mid 80s, played in post-punk, experimental and EBM/industrial bands and transitioned naturally into the techno, ambient and trance sounds of the early 90s, while maintaining an elemental early 80s live feel in the process. It’s no coincidence that these tracks date back to 92-94, a time defined by rapid technological change and a major political landslide. The fall of the Berlin wall seemed to herald the dawn of a new era of peace and prosperity. The Cold War thawed, a sense of relief took hold, the West appeared victorious and the future looked bright.
The emergence of rave culture seemed to embody this world of endless technological possibility and future optimism, techno-optimism indeed. Fast forward to 2019 and this optimism has obviously faded into oblivion, where the dream of universal freedom turned out be the empty promise of free market hypercapitalism beneficial to a small elite only. But thirty years ago rave culture was the product of that change and felt like a new home for those who discovered it. All these tracks are a precursor to sounds we hear today, an integral part of an ongoing cycle of trends where successive generations take over from previous ones. Rediscovery of that moment in time and sound is what Transition is all about, a collection of penultimate tracks that define that era.
Artwork by Sleeve To The Rhythm
Mastered by Wouter Brandenburg
Compiled and research by Mark van de Maat
Copywriter Nico Nijland
Listen / Purchase
Reviews
Knekelhuis focus on the more obscure end of the late 80s / early 90s european techno scene by releasing this four track 12″ with music from the likes of ADSR, Cacophony ’33’, Drome and Zen Paradox – techno, ambient techno and classic trance sounds.
Sounds of the Universe
Deep techno and mystic wave audness from the aesthetic phase shift of ’92-’94, researched and compiled by Amsterdam’s excellent Knekelhuis camp
Hustling four tracks by artists whose practice began in the ‘80s and continued into the ‘90s, ‘Transition Vol.1’ smartly identifies sounds in flux between live, performance-based recording techniques and the computer-based styles to come. All the tracks were produced between ’92-’94 and bear the hallmarks of a natural shift from sinuous, unquantised designs into the halcyon era of early ‘90s ambient and techno paradigms.
Up top, Canada’s ADSR exemplify this phase shift with the fluid early trance techno flow of ‘Infinities Of Life’, and UK obscurities Cacophony ’33’ yield a rough gem with the mystic dark ambient appeal of ‘Old Codger III’, which hits right between the eyes of Muslimgauze and PWoG. Rome land on the B-side with a warm bath of ambient dub full of melancholy pads and wistful whale calls that feels caught between new age and trip hop, and Zen Paradox make this plate kinda crucial for anyone scouting this region and era with a sound strongly comparable to The Connection Machine in ‘Say Goodbye to the dark Place’.
Boomkat