Ground Loop At Juno Download

Review: Like SP-X and Developer, Ground Loop provides a contemporary take on club techno. "Pine Gap" shows how techno has progressed in the area of sound design as concrete beats provide the basis for a growling bass and churning filters but also eerie textures. "South Signal" is a different proposition as Ground Loop escapes the rigours of the peak time to focus on stop-start beats and a low slung rhythm. Despite this, there is no doubt about where this EP's focus is; Advanced Human's take on the title track feature abrasive percussion and a big room filter, while Mattias Fridell's take on "South Signal" is more understated, but its tight claps and linear rhythm mean that it is a consummate functional techno track.

Review: Gynoid reveals a murkier side with the Reprise series. Ground Loop's "Begin" sounds like a relatively normal techno groove until ravey riffs kick in over the massive claps. Likewise on Mattias Fridell's take on Jin Hiyama's "Carp", percussive elements take hold. Hats crackle and hiss, snares roll in menacingly and an electronic bassline hums menacingly. The Advanced Human remix of Dacido and Meta's "Knockin On A Dark Room" up the ante further with dramatic chord sweeps and a pulsing acid line creating the drama, while Velovr's "We Are Straight" brings the release to a crushing close, its heavy beats and murky, stepping rhythm stomping all over the listener.