Review: Since debuting on Token five years ago, CTRLS has established himself as a distinctive voice in techno. Formerly a drum'n'bass artist, his ninth release for Kr!z' label refines the complex, rhythmic techno sound he has made his own. "The Shortest Path" kick starts the EP with a clanging, metallic groove, populated by shards of spiky percussion and set at a furious pace. "Rush Hour" is in a similar vein, but its beats are harder and grittier. As the release progresses, the Danish producer reveals a different side; "Crash" has an eerie, mysterious edge but is based on panel beating kicks, while "Highway" sees him explore a more conventional minimal sound. Add in two locked grooves and you've got another high-impact, CTRLS release.
Review: Token has been home to all of CTRLS work since he appeared in 2012, and Nonuser solidifies what has been a very fruitful relationship. The follow up to 2015's Users (it's not hard to see a pattern emerging), it starts with "Vocabulary". Tight, steely rhythms provide a basis for bleak synths that break and burst like grey waves against a harbour wall. The title track is more of a heads-down affair, as the Danish producer realises his vision for looped techno, albeit one where razor sharp hats and a bleating siren cut through the dense rhythms. Finally, there's a deeper track, "The Wave". Based on a dense, percussive groove, those incremental progressions up and down the melody scale that will set spines tingling.
Review: One of the main reasons why Token has made its mark is because its owner Kr!z has championed artists who are either new or who have flown under the radar. Ctrls is probably the best example of the Belgian imprint's A&R policy. The Danish producer has been releasing strictly on Token since 2012 and Two Worlds is the latest addition to his small but respectable catalogue. The title track contains breathy, atmospheric textures but underneath there lurks a powerful stepping rhythm. It's not the most dance floor friendly track, but Token has given Ctrls the freedom to experiment. In any event, on the flip, Ctrls drops "Onto Them", a stripped back tribal affair full of heavy tribal drums and insistent vocal snippets.
Review: Formerly a drum and bass producer, Danish artist CTRLS has now become a key component in the Token operation. The descriptor 'component' is apposite here; like his previous releases on the label, Users is a mechanical, metallic release, sounding like it was forged in a steel foundry rather than a studio. "Incoming Data" is based on lithe, angular rhythms and cold, subsonic bleeps, while "The Disparates" is straighter and more banging. Despite being led by gnarly beats, it is shot through with jittery percussion. Neither can compare to "Externalizer" however, a track built on mangled drums and led by the kind of merciless rhythm that can by turns tingle and crush spines.
Review: Woof! If you are looking for a massive slab of techno, you won't find anything as hefty as Aphelion. A package of tracks from Belgian label Token, Aphelion is essentially a primer for the best in contemporary techno, featuring contributions from Surgeon, Rodhad, James Ruskin, Karenn and Planetary Assault System alongside some label regulars. You will have probably already heard "Fixed Action Pattern" from Surgeon - it's possibly one of this year's finest techno tracks - but it's got some stiff competition here with Ruskin in particularly funked up form on "No Trace". Aphelion is a real statement and proof of Token's current rank as a European techno powerhouse alongside the likes of Delsin and Ostgut Ton.
Review: Take a step back and assess the output from Token over recent times and you get the impression label boss Kr!z is fixing for them to become Belgium's answer to Ostgut Ton. Already this year, Token have debuted the Eschaton collaboration between Ancient Methods and Orphx's Rich Oddie, and had Rodhad and Robert Hood remix O [Phase] with an Inigo Kennedy LP on the way too! Before that Token call on Rrose and Rich Oddie to add some remix heat to the second CTRLS release of 2014, with stunning results! "Charge" finds Troels B. Knudsen in particularly nightmarish form with a production that's dominated by the searing tonal riff, whilst Rrose's remix reinforces his reputation for nihilistic big room techno. Orphx's Oddie reduces his version that focuses on self-modulating rhythms, caustic atmospherics and squealing effects.
Review: When he's not making house music as 2400 Operator for Underground Quality, or industrial strength techno for Sonic Groove as part of Northern Structures, Troels Knudsen is Ctrls for Token. This latest Movement release is his fourth solo EP, all of which have come through the Belgian label, which now makes it safe to say he's as much a member of the Token family as Inigo Kennedy, [Phase] and the new Orphx and Ancient Methods collaboration, Eschaton. Each production on this three-track release sees similar beaten down drums of his Northern Structures project, although this time they're pitched against metallic screeches of contorted synths, and it's the Dane's strongest solo work yet.
Review: It's been a busy year for Belgian imprint Token, with killer EPs coming from Rodhad, Xhin, Inigo Kennedy and the impending album from O [Phase]. Ctrls now presents his third EP for the label and matches his Northern Structures studio buddy Lasse Buhl with solo releases this year. As usual Ctrls has his Vermona drum machine cranking full tilt with the two tracks "Modular Framework" and "Displacer", with the latter reworked twice by Sleeparchive who turns it into something a little more stripped back and caustic. The Token techno machine marches on!
Review: Token has sensibly made all of the tracks from Kr!z debut commercial mix available in an unmixed format. The Belgian label has put out a wide range of music, and its owner represents its diversity well on this selection. With the inclusion of Xhin's twisted, abstract rhythms, the plaintive ambience of Inigo Kennedy's 'Obsidian' and Surgeon's electro take on Grovskopa's "Sex & Violins", the compilation shows the label's reflective side. However, Token is first and foremost a dance floor label and Introspective includes the insane drones of Ctrl's "Sockets", Rodhad's spooky "Spomeniks", the glacial trance of Inigo Kennedy's "Cathedral" and the deranged tonal assault that is Makaton's "Endless Revolt".
Review: Belgian label Token has been one of the finest techno labels of 2012, and Kr!z imprint rounds out the year in style on Unity. The work of Danish producer Ctrls, the sound appears to be almost simplistic at times, but in reality it's a highly complex set of arrangements. "Analogue Lies" sees dense drums struggling to be heard over the din created by static interference and crackling percussion, while "Evident Mechanics" is based on mechanical rhythms, whip-crack electronic riffs and an insistent robot vocal. Best of all though is "Limited Competition", where a squeaky metallic stab is combined with lo-fi drums.
Review: Ben Klock is Berghain's DJ's DJ and Marcel Dettmann is the club's purist, but Norman Nodge is the teacher. Without the lawyer, family man and DJ's influence, it is arguable whether the Berlin club where both reside would enjoy the same kind of global profile. Nodge's DJing played a central role in shaping the club's musical aesthetic. Mixing classic house and techno styles with contemporary variants, his selection veers from the wild abstractions of Birds Two Cage and Oni Ayhun to the explosive white noise intensity of Planet Assault Systems' take on The Nightripper's "Tone Exploitation" and the stomping industrial techno of Charlton's "Black Slong". While Nodge is clearly an expert in building a set, he doesn't simply ramp up the tempo and cruise to a predictable climax. Nodge follows the PAS/Charlton segue with the gnarly rhythms and chain mail percussion of Ctrls and Chance 'Chancellor' McDermott, but then drops into the trippy acid and infectious vocals of Tim Taylor & DJ Slip's "New York Minds". He follows this shift in sound with Radioactive Man's melodic electro bass and Legowelt's warm synth version of Xosar's "Rainy Day Juno Jam", bringing to a close Berghain's most impressive mix yet.
Review: Token never does things the conventional way and this release by Ctrls is testament to the Belgian label's championing of unorthodox techno. While "Socket" is a peak time affair, powered by a rhythm that is lean and functional, cavernous soundscapes threaten to submerge it. On "Social Vector", a pacey funk bassline is in the foreground, but whirring and clicking away in the left field are shards of glitchy percussion and unexpected stops and starts. "Encrypted Sex" completes the package and here too Ctrls don't forsake experimentation, with a sawing bass supporting subtle percussive elements and a series of drops.
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