Basictonalvocabulary

When this 1997 techno classic was released by the Tresor label, it came as two 12” LPs, even though it only added up to 40 minutes of music; the grooves had to be that wide to encompass the bass frequencies Anthony Child wanted to include. But these tracks aren’t just throb and thump; there are brief, repetitive (I’m not gonna use the m-word) melodies on top that have an electronic/metallic ping and squiggle. It was OK to have melody in hardcore techno back then, and “9 Hours Into the Future” is practically electropop, and “Depart” is like a wind-up music box convulsing over a pulsing three-note synth figure, while “Rotunda” is the album at its most blasting; the beat is like a string of firecrackers going off endlessly.