There’s something about The Dance Paradox that manages to link it to a very definite and strong history, yet still sound fresh. To me, this is one of techno’s strength when artists get it right – using the template but pushing and exploring. Undoubtedly, Redshape’s framework is classic techno. Detroit synth washes, 4-pulse kicks, scattered percussion. But there’s a great deal of decay on the one hand, and the organic on the other, which distances it from the pristine machine music of old.
The album begins with vinyl crackle (not sure if this is simulated on the actual vinyl version, or if that’s left to nature). It’s an old, oft-used conceit, but has its place here. The track itself, ‘Seduce Me’ then proceeds with a loop of acoustic ride cymbal as the main pulse, with shaker and later acoustic hi-hats. It could almost be a cyber-jazz set up, if it weren’t for the digital bass drones, synth washes and straight repetition. ‘Garage GT’, likewise, is full of acoustic rhythm sounds and field recordings (a city street vignette with traffic white noise and siren in this case). But the disintegration around the edges of the sounds are what is most notable. Everything has a film of grainy residue attached, not making the sounds murky per sé, but clotting all the elements together. The futurist sheen of first generation techno is severely undermined. And so the album continues. ‘Man Out Of Time’ utilises a more breakbeat oriented groove and the synths are woozier than elsewhere, as are the snare drum echoes. ‘Dead Space Mix’ is probably the least convincing as it relies on somewhat dated chord progressions, but even then, has charm in its cymbal loops. The album, as a whole, does not succumb to such clichés.
The overall feeling I get from The Dance Paradox would be like imagining I was shrunk down to be able to run along the groove of a piece of 20 year old techno vinyl. There is an expanse above my head which the music is aiming for, but the effects of needle in the groove over an extended period of time have decayed the sheen. The forward pulse is there, but there’s an understanding that it’s not just ghosts in the machine that might undermine the future, but nature itself might fight back. From the vantage point of 2009, that seems appropriately honest and exciting.
Adrian Elmer
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