Techno with a capital ‘T’ seems to be claiming the space where the dying shell of minimal used to dominate, and with tracks such as these from the increasingly relevant Sandwell District that’s no bad thing. These two twelves collect three versions of ‘Variance’ by N/A (‘not applicable’), apparently a deliberate ploy by Sandwell to deconstruct authorship, or in their words ‘decentralize the artist / producers ego’. Putting the ‘faceless’ back into faceless techno bollocks, then, surely no bad thing, but doesn’t then hailing the big names of those re-working it – Marcel Dettmann, Regis, and Function – undo all the good work?
All three bear the clear stamp of grey, crumbly Berghain, each a subtle variant of the other and retaining mere hints of what must be the ‘original’. Function’s contribution to the one-sided Sandwell-13 is the least distinctive, dark Tresor-ian pulses and faint dub shimmers detail a straightforward, restrained yet effective chugger. Dettmann’s take is tougher, but only just, his drums instantly recogniseable, every element dripping with moisture as though recorded in some dank dungeon. The prize however goes to Regis, opening with a broken dubstep tease before the 4/4 kicks in, or rather slides. Framed by sharp, biting rimshots, Regis’s mix is all about precarious balance, with echo running headlong into crisp attack, all beautifully rendered.
Joshua Meggitt
