Unlike the bulk of Rene Pawlowitz’s material under a plethora of aliases, Equalized#004 feels fussy and mundane rather than effortless and awe-inspiring.
equalized
EQD, Equalized #003
January 19, 2010 – 11:01 AM
Equalized #003 is not an easy record to identify, and not just because its creator went through reasonable pains to stay anonymous. Both sides of the disc feature thoughtful, hard tripping grooves that feel like they might disintegrate into warm, gooey, and rhythmless piles of mash at any moment. Drums lurch into the mix on one off-beat, never to be seen again; towards the end of the A-side, a house stomp emerges from the techno shuffle: this is a record that makes unpredictability into an art form, using surprise, rather than an emotional sonic palette, to deliver pleasure. On its own, this might not make the latest from EQD worthy of careful discussion. Plenty of tracks in techno history evolve in unexpected ways — I’m thinking now of Jichael Mackson’s dubby rework of Chris Isaacs — but very few producers are skilful enough to avoid using the genre conventions of house and techno enough to let the surprise do so very much of the work.
Wax, No. 20002
September 1, 2009 – 10:01 AM
When Marcel Dettmann casually admitted René Pawlowitz was the producer behind the anonymous Equalized label (and the subsequent transformation of Shed’s Myspace account into Waxalized), more than a few lingering suspicions were confirmed. In retrospect, the rhythmic complexity and painstakingly crafted timbres of these stamped white labels shared palpable kinship with Pawlowitz’s Shed and STP tracks — a degree of production prowess uncommon in the majority of releases being cranked out breakneck speeds. Shorn of identity intrigue, the second Wax single, “No. 20002,” offers further testament to the acuity of Pawlowitz’s musical vision.
EQD, Equalized #002
January 25, 2009 – 8:37 PM
[Equalized] In many ways, Equalized can only be discussed as two rubber stamped records, each carved with of a deep understanding of and flexibility with rhythm. The scope of sounds found on their four sides could point to a number of talented, Hardwax-affiliated producers, solo or in collaboration. While the A side of “Equalized #001” […]