VA – Tepidarium [Subsist Records]

If anything characterises Subsist Records, it is its frenetic activity and its transitions to adapt to a sound that defines it at any given moment, although within its vast catalogue we can find references to different styles and above all, sub-genres and different interpretations of techno. Possibly, many of his followers associate this project with a technological sound, with a futuristic environment in which the high frequencies redesign the landscape.

The latest release from this Valencian label shows different interpretations of what many call sci-fi techno. The EP is released on vinyl and the A-side opens with an artist who has been defending this sound for years, which has not gone unnoticed by a label like Axis Records, which we can consider today as the platform that best represents this sound on a global level. This is Ocktawian, one of the Spanish producers who has recently been recruited by Jeff Mills‘ label, although for this release, he adopts a transgressive and forceful character, as Terrore Impetum is a linear cut in which the harmonic combination is minimal. The second track on side A is by another artist who has had quite a lot of influence in the last two years at Axis Records. This is Mike Storm, Dutch producer who made his artistic debut on Subsist Records in 2012 and who returns to this platform with Supercluster, a track with a somewhat broader melodic evolution, even so, it creates a spatiality more in line with sci-fi but also uses a constant sound background.

The B-side opens with one of the two Argentinean projects that currently best embody this sub-genre of techno that mixes hypnotic rhythms with the cadenced and sharp melodies of quasars, of the electromagnetic energy they give off, however, LH710 is an earthy track that does not accurately show Pulso‘s predilection for sci-fi, but rather focuses on an obsessive rhythm with a single tonal variation of an octave. Translate is the second Argentinean project that best represents the sci-fi sound in this South American country. Parallel Induction goes deeper into this cosmic scenario with a similar formula to the previous cut, but with a development in which he constantly modifies the modulation of several harmonic elements. The EP closes with Group, an anonymous project of Subsist’s confidence that adapts its usual degraded sound to the spatial context of this release, thus exhibiting a great versatility to generate any piece of music, whatever the style, and that can transmit its artistic condition in the same way.

Release date: October 25th, 2021.