[Electric Deluxe]

It’s somewhat surprising “Machine EP” is the first time Terence Fixmer and Speedy J, two veterans of hard and fast techno, have worked with each other’s music. Both have churned out banging twelves since the early 90s and have a workman-like quality about their productions. Appropriately, Speedy’s recently launched Electric Deluxe imprint is the venue for their meeting, marking the first time another solo artist is featured there. Fans of either man will be pleased, even if they find not much new.

Fixmer’s passion for EBM sonorities is clear in “Machine”‘s live, chugging bass tone, which modulates subtly as it shoves listeners into strident storms of climbing and falling pitches, not unlike a fighter jet making evasive maneuvers. But before listeners have a chance to find their earplugs, a peculiarly tuneful melody steps in as counterpoint to the somewhat monotonous progressions. Fixmer plays up the contrasts in his “6 AM Dub Version,” whose sooty, distorted bass line plunges dancers into the grimiest of dungeon settings. Even the once unexpected melody is joined, albeit briefly, by a synthetic choir whose added weight offsets some of the grit. Of the two versions, the “6 AM Dub” makes a greater impact as it strays further from conventional sound design. With the exception of a persistent beep, a few metallic textures, Speedy J’s remix seems closer to an extended edit, nearly doubly the track’s length and, at times, the intensity of the cochlea-shredding outbursts. The utilitarian “Machine EP” is unlikely to make waves on its own, but DJs tasked with keeping the relentless beat engine roaring may well find its contents suited for their arsenals.