After renouncing all dancefloor action for the concept minimalism of Together Is The New Alone (Mille Plateaux) and Isol (Raster-Noton, as Modul), Costello returns to his own label, Minimise, to release Colorseries. It might look more like a Dulux colour chart than a string of techno singles, but it's already shaping up to be an impressive testament to the Irishman's versatile production skills.

Blue

The series opens on familiar Costello turf - slow-building, hypnotic and dubby, a steady 4/4 beat is punctuated by gooey acid squelches and an offbeat high hat which ticks away like a metronome. Mesmerisingly repetitive, this is clearly reminiscent of Plastikman or Maurizio, and it's the kind of disciplined, patient minimalism which Costello has completely mastered.

Green

Green moves things swiftly along, developing the acid motif established in Blue, but with a much deeper techno feel. On one side a pulsing Basic Channel style synth is tied to a simple little bass groove, and driven along by an insistent kickdrum. Flip to the reverse and we find the same vibe, stripped down to its essentials and built back up again - but funkier by far this time around. It's impossible not to slip into a head nodding trance, and just when it looks like things couldn't possibly get any better, the squelchy acid line from Blue drops into place...

Rubine Red

This isn't really "rubine red", it's as pink as a slapped arse - and rightly so, because this is where Costello delves into some saucier acid house territory. The A-side kicks off with the usual crisp 4/4 style, but it soon blossoms into the most melodic track of the series so far, bouncing along very playfully indeed. After the darkness of the earlier 12s it occasionally seems a touch insipid, but there's no time to worry about that - the B-side is where it's really happening. This is the first time in Colorseries that Costello has stripped the melody completely bare before introducing his beats, and it momentarily brings his lush chords into focus, to breathtaking effect.

Grape

Donnacha's interior decorating series continues with this fruity 12". Deep and housey, the A-side has a relaxed, old skool vibe - a mellow acid bleep floats around with distant 808 claps, underpinned by a deceptively weighty bassdrum. As usual, the B-side picks up the pace and builds to a heftier climax, but now Costello layers on the atmosphere until the entire concoction is denser and murkier than anything he's ever produced. Immense.

Keep your eyes peeled for some tasty nut-flavoured techno in the fifth instalment, Pistachio.

www.minimise.com

By Alex R