[Beatstreet]

In Marcel Dettmann’s rather enigmatic Discogs bio, we read that he sees techno as “a determination of both his life and music” which continually leads him on a “quest for the optimal track.” It’s a touch ridiculous in its overstatement, but it’s the kind of hyperbole that sheds a very bright light on Dettmann’s productions: he’s a purist and it shows. He avoids clichés, trends and any other kind of excess in his music, continually streamlining his vision in his productions (see his “Scenario EP” with Klock and recent “MDR 04”), remixes (like his work on Ellen Allien’s “Go”) and even his DJ sets, like the excellent Berghain 02 released earlier this year. His very distinct style provides an interesting contrast to the work of Pigon (aka producers Efdemin and Rndm), who have a more sample-based but no less fascinating approach to their brand of minimalism.

The “Kamm/Plain” EP is techno stripped to its barest core. Pigon’s opener is slow and incisive: a soft bass drum drives us through a surreal electronic landscape while metallic buzzes, bleeps and cracks float in and out of the listener’s aural space. It builds expertly and feels like being slowly sucked into a swarm of insects; by the end of the song, the tension has reached an unbearable breaking point — that is, until “Plain.” I don’t know what’s better: Dettmann’s track itself or the simple fact that it comes up next, shattering the tension created by “Kamm” like a hammer on ice. It’s as sparse as any of his songs — he uses only a bass drum, a hi-hat and a distant, two-note melody — but each element’s mechanical, self-contained pulse proves to be the most powerful kind of minimalism. It’s not “tribal,” it’s not trendy and it sure as hell isn’t any worse for it. It’s music whose whole fully outweighs the sum of its parts, music so quietly penetrating it becomes brutal. Both “Kamm” and “Plain” are pure club dynamite; and whether they’re used for making tension or breaking it, they’ll be sure to send shivers down any crowd’s spine. (post by Jeremy Cohen)