[Minimal Wave]

We live in an era of boundless reissue labels, but while many dig up droves of previously un(or rarely)heard gems, few dig up whole genres. Minimal Wave did exactly that, spotlighting groups from the 80s whose sounds referenced new wave and electro but with significantly reduced palettes. Techno figures such as Silent Servant have been steadily incorporating these sounds into their productions and DJ sets, and it seemed only a matter of time before more techno-leaning minimal wave got dug up. 2012’s Dust Under Brightness by the French duo In Aeternam Vale was just that record. The A-side was an insistent, stomping bit of reduced EBM, but the B-side “Highway Dark Veins” was where the proverbial magic happened: Sähkö-esque bleeps and rugged 606 rhythms made it by far the most techno thing to ever come out on Minimal Wave, and huge swells of noise made it sound damn near contemporary — all that was missing was a L.I.E.S. stamp.

“La Piscine” is the follow-up, continuing much where “Highway Dark Veins” left off but focused even more squarely on the dance floor. Recorded in 1989, it’s a driving techno roller, pairing bleeps and straight-laced beats with quivering bass tones and whooshing filtered noises. B-side “Calling Somewhere” is slower and darker — plodding through acidic bass lines and portentous synth sounds over its extended runtime. Both cuts, in fact, approach the 15-minute mark — for “La Piscine” this is a great thing, but “Calling Somewhere” could frankly have been edited a bit. As historical artifacts, both tracks should be of much interest to techno fans, especially those attracted to the 80s European sounds that evolved with minimal Detroit influence (New Beat, EBM). “La Piscine” in particular sure sounds good on the dance floor, in this or any decade.