Alex Cortex At Juno Download

Review: Alex Cortex has put out a wide range of music over his career, but the common characteristic is the maverick German producer's ability to breathe new life into existing narratives. Boldskool is no exception; "Tackle" sees him re-wire minimal techno, its high-paced rhythm and microscopic beats housing yelping analogue bleeps. Similarly on "Beach Bass", he flirts with deep house, only to emerge with a rolling, warm bass-led groove that has echoes of Brikha's "Groove La Chord". Cortex even has a crack at classic electro; "Boing Boing" has the same sweeping robo synths and clanging 808s as Juan Atkins's early Cybotron material. The key difference though is Cortex's cheeky use of the well-known 'you make me feel so good' vocal sample.

Review: Alex Cortex is one of techno's most innovative producers, and thankfully he didn't decide to go ahead with the announcement a few years ago that he intended to stop making music. If he had taken early retirement, the world would never have heard "Future Acid". Shaking, shuffling drums are filtered over a funk bassline, but these rhythmic elements are merely a prelude for the meanest, dirtiest acid line since Bunker reared its ugly head in a Hague sewer. "R-Byte" is completely different, a dense and unrelenting slice of jacking techno, while "Mem" inhabits the middle ground between Juan Atkins's late 90s work for Tresor and Rob Hood at his most abstract, as a watery rhythm glistens ad infinitum.