Sonic Curiosity Logo

Techno: Digital Geist, Kinder Atom, Labo_Labs

decorative rule

DIGITAL GEIST: The Zero Engine (CD on Digital Geist Music)

This release from 2006 features 69 minutes of lively techno tunes.

Digital Geist is Alex Kourelis and Newt, with spoken word contributions by Krista Dragomer.

Extremely dense layers of BPMs and surging electronics conspire with a bevy of samples to generate hyperactive dance tunes. The electronics are a mixture of gritty and refined tones that blend to produce a seething vista of sultry synthetics. Pulsations of bass disposition infect the music, providing a rumbling foundation for the energetic melodies. Airy tonalities waft in the midst of all this, establishing a heavenly touch to the urban nature of the tuneage.

A profusion of e-perc contributes complex rhythms that intertwine and flourish into lavish nests of dazzling tempos. The periodic repetition of electronic sounds augments these beats with additional rhythms, resulting in an abundance of percussion that often dominates the tunes.

Spoken word passages are present in several tracks, lending clarification of the otherwise instrumental music's intended message. Other tracks feature vocoder vocals by the band.

Compositionally, this music is remarkably slick, achieving a masterful mood of ebullient festivity, a celebration of futurist urban environments. Compressing human emotion with mechanical sentiment, the tunes bristle with dynamic fervor.

Remixes of three songs are included, handled by the able talents of Front 242, Neotek, and Timid.

decorative rule

KINDER ATOM: Soft Hand Feel (CD & DVD on Nice + Smooth Multimedia)

This release from 2006 offers a CD of 73 minutes of engaging techno, and a DVD featuring seven videos and three remix tracks.

Kinder Atom is: Heike Sillaste, Kristian Helstrom, Christopher Drost, and Gerald Belanger, with contributions by D'arcy McGuire on guitar and Robin Story (aka Rapoon) on overseas chanting.

Cybernetic rhythms agitate a melodic pool of sensual electronics. The gestalt is tinged with inventive embellishments that elevate the tuneage with atmospheric elements mixed with a definite sense of escalating drama. The songs build in intensity and appeal, reaching heights of stratospheric appeal. Peppy club keyboards slide with icy fashion, enhanced by a spacey demeanor that inspires molten verve.

The percussion is vibrant and tireless, belting out patterns of hypnotic allure. Intricacy is tempered with determination, spawning an attitude of accessibility that fuses sly chillout with unrestrained dancefloor expressions. Traditional drums mix with beats of synthetic origin, creating a holistic array of bewitching rhythms. In one track, a breakbeat explosion is contaminated by delicate keyboards that lend an endearing restraint to the frenzied eruption.

One track features vocals by Musical Sniper delivered in a reggae fashion.

While indefatigable beats dominate the music, the underlying melodies are rich with charming invocation. These compositions strive to achieve a level beyond conventional techno, blending mirth with sincerity to produce a mood of objective frivolity. Cheery harmonics are delivered in conjunction with severe technological mien, resulting in tuneage that shimmers with a high degree of modern charisma. This coalition of dreaminess and frantic delivery results in a pastiche of delightful glamour.

decorative rule

LABO_LABS: Blue Line (CD on Loud Dust Recordings)

This release from 2006 features 46 minutes of lively techno music.

Labo_Labs is Christian Huepe.

The electronics are slippery and sly, chirping out melodies of synthetic disposition that vibrate with charged vitality. Bouncy bits chug along with jovial intention, producing riffs that are quite infectious. Sidereal effects contribute a fanciful quality to the songs, often manifesting as subliminal funk in the techno milieu.

The tempos tend to be robotic on the surface, but underlying electronic rhythms serve to enhance the beats with a fuzzy foundation that expands the percussion to a favorable point. These compound rhythms function nicely, delivering a tasty dose of hyperactivity that remains just on the safe side of complexity.

Vocodered vocals provide lyrical embellishment to the tuneage, resulting in electro-pop that is very reminiscent of the early Eighties.

While mainly techno in nature, one song contains pleasing jazz influences that elevate this dancefloor piece to an interesting level. Expressive horns lend a delightful touch to the surging electronics and pulsating e-perc.

Overall, the compositions are straight-ahead techno with an engaging quirkiness that bestows a congenial nature on the tunes.

decorative rule
Entire page © 2007 Matt Howarth.
All rights reserved.
Webpage design by Stasy