Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald
Borderland
Two of techno's most influential architects reprise a long-running relationship at 'Borderland'. Whilst officially their debut album collaboration, Detroit visionary Juan Atkins and his Berlin-based counterpart Moritz Von Oswald previously worked together on a string of foundational, early '90s techno tracks - from their 3MB trio alongside Thomas Fehlmann thru Von Oswald's engineering work on Model 500's classic 'Starlight', among others. Twenty years on they pick up a very similar flow or dialogue here with eight "sequences" of stripped-down, signature rhythms and 313 melodies subject to the most refined dub process. Essentially this is jazz techno for the mature listener, feeding forward Moritz's experience working with orchestras, ensembles and live players to lend an organic richness in balance with Juan's unswerving Afro-futurist principles. The results sashay elegantly between the hypnotic elan of 'Electric Garden (Jazz In The Garden Mix)' and its sanguine 'Electric Dub', thru the M-Series shadows of 'Footprints' and the fragile economics of 'Electric Garden (Original)', before taking it back to swinging garage dub with 'Treehouse'. However, we'd say the album's most interesting moment occurs with the spiralling kosmische dub spumes and tightly coiled groove of 'Mars Garden', whilst they spend the last two tracks really feeling each other out - studio wise - with the patient, tactile explorations of 'Digital Forest' and a gorgeous 'Afterlude'.
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Two of techno's most influential architects reprise a long-running relationship at 'Borderland'. Whilst officially their debut album collaboration, Detroit visionary Juan Atkins and his Berlin-based counterpart Moritz Von Oswald previously worked together on a string of foundational, early '90s techno tracks - from their 3MB trio alongside Thomas Fehlmann thru Von Oswald's engineering work on Model 500's classic 'Starlight', among others. Twenty years on they pick up a very similar flow or dialogue here with eight "sequences" of stripped-down, signature rhythms and 313 melodies subject to the most refined dub process. Essentially this is jazz techno for the mature listener, feeding forward Moritz's experience working with orchestras, ensembles and live players to lend an organic richness in balance with Juan's unswerving Afro-futurist principles. The results sashay elegantly between the hypnotic elan of 'Electric Garden (Jazz In The Garden Mix)' and its sanguine 'Electric Dub', thru the M-Series shadows of 'Footprints' and the fragile economics of 'Electric Garden (Original)', before taking it back to swinging garage dub with 'Treehouse'. However, we'd say the album's most interesting moment occurs with the spiralling kosmische dub spumes and tightly coiled groove of 'Mars Garden', whilst they spend the last two tracks really feeling each other out - studio wise - with the patient, tactile explorations of 'Digital Forest' and a gorgeous 'Afterlude'.
Two of techno's most influential architects reprise a long-running relationship at 'Borderland'. Whilst officially their debut album collaboration, Detroit visionary Juan Atkins and his Berlin-based counterpart Moritz Von Oswald previously worked together on a string of foundational, early '90s techno tracks - from their 3MB trio alongside Thomas Fehlmann thru Von Oswald's engineering work on Model 500's classic 'Starlight', among others. Twenty years on they pick up a very similar flow or dialogue here with eight "sequences" of stripped-down, signature rhythms and 313 melodies subject to the most refined dub process. Essentially this is jazz techno for the mature listener, feeding forward Moritz's experience working with orchestras, ensembles and live players to lend an organic richness in balance with Juan's unswerving Afro-futurist principles. The results sashay elegantly between the hypnotic elan of 'Electric Garden (Jazz In The Garden Mix)' and its sanguine 'Electric Dub', thru the M-Series shadows of 'Footprints' and the fragile economics of 'Electric Garden (Original)', before taking it back to swinging garage dub with 'Treehouse'. However, we'd say the album's most interesting moment occurs with the spiralling kosmische dub spumes and tightly coiled groove of 'Mars Garden', whilst they spend the last two tracks really feeling each other out - studio wise - with the patient, tactile explorations of 'Digital Forest' and a gorgeous 'Afterlude'.