Product Information:
While it would be reasonable to expect a 12-year-old label to show some signs of stagnation or jadedness, on Shaping Elements, Steve Bug's Poker Flat continues to represent high-quality house and techno. The more drummy end of the label's output is ably showcased by Freestyle Man, Berskon & What and Jay Tripwire, while Bug himself, Jeff Samuel and ADJD's glorious "Save Me" tease new shapes out of the grey zone where stripped minimal rhythms and sensuous deep house sounds meet. "Elements" also allows Poker Flat to reveal its techno stripes, with Donnacha Costello dropping the incredible reflective Detroit melodies of "Stretching Time" and in a rare studio outing, Richie Hawtin remixing Steve Bug's "A Night Like This" in a chord-heavy Chain Reaction style. However, Hawtin is overshadowed by another remixer, Lawrence, whose plunging bass rework of Donnacha Costello's "Leaving Berlin" is spine-tinglingly brilliant.