Shanghai-based techno producer Lou Nani has cultivated a reputation as a name to watch in his native country over the last several years, both as a graphic designer and DJ / musician, playing as both a member of synth-pop band IGO and releasing his own solo techno-oriented productions as B6 (apparently a reference to both classic UK IDM / techno duo B12 and his favourite choice of artist’s pencil). While Nani’s certainly been prolific over the last few years however (witness last year’s self-released 6 CD ‘B6 Box’), this latest album ‘Post Haze’, released through Chinese electronic label Guava in many senses represents his first easily available commercial release. As you’d expect from a graphic designer, the ten tracks collected here see Nani practising a meticulous approach to fine detail and sound designer, resulting in a collection that beautifully merges elements of minimalist ‘listening’ techno ala Isolee and Luomo with a more visceral sense of muscular dancefloor groove.
This hybrid works particularly beautifully on tracks such as ‘Take You With A Sigh’ and the decidedly peaktime focused ‘Night On Earth’ – while the snares and hi-hats may at times be little more than sparse, cut-up breath textures and hisses of white noise, the surrounding architecture threads in a thick, almost creamy analogue electro bassline and the sorts of funky retroid synths you could almost imagine Thomas Bangalter reaching for. There’s also a tangible sense of progression through an actual club night as later tracks such as ‘The Blind Leading The Blessed’ see the mood sifting towards more hypnotic, gliding early morning grooves – something that’s conceptually backed up by the ’11:30 PM’ and ‘4.30 AM’ ambient sound segues that bookend this disc. In the end, you’re left with one of the more accomplished and satisfying techno albums of recent memory, and one that’s likely to appeal equally to club kids and more armchair-oriented ‘listening’ techno fans.
