Compression Session EP vinyl

Long associated with the harder side of techno - on the evidence of his recent mix and pretty much any of his longer club sets, unfairly so - this release sees Berghain Ben Klock attempt to show a more musical flavour. The first version of the title track sees airy, spacey Detroit chords copper-fastened to a typically dense Klock drum pattern, with both seemingly disparate elements acting in unison to create a climax that's as epic as Berghain's Gotham City architecture. A similar approach applies on the second version: it features the same snappy drums and crackling percussion underpinning Klock's previously undocumented lush leanings, but despite this, it would be wrong to assume that it's merely a continuation of the first version. Tellingly, there are also dark, droning tones and hints of the ruthlessly utilitarian approach of his colleague, Marcel Dettmann - and these nuances are also audible on the third and final track, "Static Test". Although there is a building chord sequence, it sounds like a distraction to the main event - a rolling, functional techno rhythm, powered by whiplash percussion and an underlying hint of menace. Top release.

Exium, Ben Sims, Vegim, Kr!z (Token Records), Billy Nasty, Dave Miller, Alex Downey, Rolando, Marcel Heese, Luke Slater, Tony Silver, Philogresz, Per Bojsen-Moller, Jamie Behan, Shadow Dancer (Boysnoize Records), James Ruskin, Myles Serge, Edit Select, Michaelangelo