(Wanted)
In the land of techno, for an introduction to the state of the art, one could do worse than to track down Advanced Technology. Empirion is a three piece band, in the shape of Oz Morsley, Bobby Glennie and Jamie Smart. This album features some excellent tracks, without ever falling into some of the cliches that abound in the genre. They have their own web page up at http://www.wanted.demon.co.uk, where we learn that all of the tracks on the album range from 120 to 140 bpm. Which is another way of saying that this stuff cranks.
Like the title track "Advanced Technology", a radar beam on the horizon slowly moving into focus that suddenly snaps into the main groove. A classic exposition of how techno builds a song up by layers, one rhythm and then another being brought into play.
"Ayahuasca", starts off as a sort of feel-good late model Simple Minds number. As it warms up, however, the percussion fires up and the melody fleshes itself out it starts sounding like recent Severed Heads (now there's someone to look for). Unfortunately, here, the long synth washes over the top tend to give it a bit of a been-there-done-that feel.
Probably the best track on the album, "ph1" is definitely groovy. Well paced, interesting samples, infectious rhythm, this is a song that benefits from being played loud. The mood sharpens up and becomes tenser with "Quark", with its industrial beacon strobing out on the off-beat, before going completely demented towards the end of the song - as if a virus took hold of it to bendit to its own purpose. This being the longest track, at over eleven minutes, there's room to move.
More serious beats from a distant galaxy in the shape of "Narcotic Influence 2", a slowly mounting mist of distortion suddenly dissipates as the song cuts to the beat. The tune builds up in a crescendo to the one vocal sample looped over and over again "Giving them drugs, drugs, drugs". Followed by the punchline "Taking their lives away?" Right. If readers are already familiar with Empirion, it is probably due to the sister track "Narcotic Influence 1".
The most hardcore track on the album would probably be "Ciao", a stroboscopic industrial mindsnap or "Jesus Christ", with its ratchetty hypnotic beat. The name of the song is no doubt inspired by the various radio preachers sampled for the mix. Both deserve to be played loud.
And now for something completely different, the album closes with a long ambient techno lullaby that covers a lot of ground in ten minutes. At different times I am reminded of Future Sound of London, Aphex Twin, curiously enough, even David Byrne's Catherine Wheel.
Seventy four minutes, thirty three seconds of music. Difficult to cram more on a single CD.
