Born-Against

Born-Against

Kalon [Sandwell District]

21 February, 2008 | 1.21PM

• Written by: Richard Brophy 2
• Filed under: Music Recommendations: kalon, sandwell district

Even though it seems to deliberately encourage a low profile, Sandwell District is becoming one of most consistent new techno labels.

Following on from Dave Sumner’s excellent ‘Isolation’ release as Function, the mysterious Kalon drops an EP that is at just the right tempo for house DJs, but which would probably overwhelm most deep releases in the mix.

The mastering on ‘Born-Against’ is superb: crystal clear and bloody loud too.

In fact, it sounds Sandwell/Kalon got the same Bristol operation that did such a great job on the ‘Ugandan Speed Trials’ record on Downwards last year on board for this release.

Lead track ‘Man Is The Superior Animal’ revolves simply around heavy metallic drums, but their all-encompassing depth and repetitive nature are deadly effective.

‘Haiku’ is just as effective if somewhat less direct, but its heavy, crunchy beats and viscous yet robust industrial-strength bass make it sound unique.

My only gripe with this digital release is that the vinyl contains a live version of ‘Man…’, which is well worth hearing and playing.

Maybe Beatport will be able to make it available at some stage.

In the meantime, lose yourself in Kalon’s robust, mechanical rhythms — this is techno just the way it should sound.

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