Originally founded back in 2003 by electronic producers Mark Streatfield (aka Zainetica) and Joseph Auer, London-based techno/IDM label Rednetic Recordings has managed to carve out a distinctive presence amongst the international scene over the past four years, with strong album and EP releases from label signings Mint, Inigo Kennedy and Cheju appearing in the last year alone. This second label compilation from Rednetic, One Point Two, follows on from 2004’s One Point One volume and aims to provide an overview of the label’s current activities, drawing together an unmixed selection of 14 previously unreleased tracks taken from right throughout Rednetic’s stylistically eclectic roster. While I have to confess that I was more than slightly bemused by the “digital listening music’ sub-tag Rednetic have decided to run with for this comp (and intrigued by the idea of music designed not to be listened to), One Point Two certainly manages to adeptly bridge the middle ground between dancefloor-oriented techno/electro and more downbeat/ambient IDM atmospheres in the vein of Merck or Hydrogen Dukebox.
In many senses, the opening tracks of this expansive 73-minute collection represent some of its more extrovert and upbeat offerings, with the icy fragmented Warp-esque breakbeats and shimmering synth harmonics of Mint’s “Queasy’ giving way to the squealing rave-loaded electro-house of Tommi Bass’s “Electro Glitch 2007′ and the Suicide-meets-Atomic Hooligan industrial electro-grind in evidence on Liberation’ seedy “One Night Stand.’ Boc Scadet’s smooth fusion of electro-hiphop rhythms and wafting Air meets ‘Trans-Europe Express’-style synth atmospheres on the delicate “She Spoke Of The Sky’ soon proves, however, to be a bridge leading the tracklisting here down into some distinctly more abstract and occasionally beatless directions. Polestar’s gorgeously enveloping “Retro Future’ proves to be a sweeping, atmospheric highlight of this collection, artfully playing scattershot electrical-burst polyrhythms against a velvet-smooth backdrop of arcing ambient pads as rough-edged gear textures rattle and grind at the very edges. Infinite Scale’s brooding “Cell Out’s meanwhile manages to shift from blurred-out spoken word ambience and gathering dread atmosphere into slow, crunching industrial beats and Eno-meets-BOC glacial synthscapes, before a Lacklustre reworking of Joseph Auer’s 2004 track, “Harajuku’, manages to even toss in a dose of G-funk amidst its decidedly R&B/hiphop-flavoured rhythmic undercarriage. By equal points stylistically diverse and inspired, One Point Two represents a seriously impressive label showcase collection from Rednetic that marks the London-based imprint as one well worth keeping tabs on.
Chris Downton
