Rumour has it that Pascal Arbez is behind this second release on Citizen, and to my ears the music contained on this four-tracker is certainly reminiscent of his Vitalic and Dima guises.
First up is ‘Bodies, Minds, Souls’ which sets the tone for the whole EP: similar to Vitalic but dirtier, grimier and less melodic. The mood is a lot more lo-fi than the more polished Dima and Vitalic releases and is all the better for it. This is storming hard techno for dancefloors, with all traces of melody wiped out and replaced with a heavy droning bass, ominous synths, chopped up beats and disturbing vocals.
Second track ‘Fat’ certainly lives up to its name, with crunchy 909 snares crashing around a busy, distorted bassline.
Flip to Side 2 where Onurb has left it to track 3 to unleash the EP’s finest moment. ‘Get Ready To Race’ is ‘La Rock 01’ for 2003, not a claim to be made lightly! A dismembered voice croaks over funky bass and drums that are unmistakably Vitalic. Haunted synth sounds then build and build until you’re suddenly into end-of-night-classic territory.
‘Message: Music’ rounds the EP off with a syncopated bass drum, shuffling hi-hats, Hacker-esque synths and the obligatory vocodered vocal.
While not as immediately accessible as something like Vitalic’s ‘Poney’ EP, this record is still probably one of the best techno records of the year. Unique peak-time electronic music for the dancefloor.
