I Don’t Need Competition

I Don’t Need Competition

Gonno [Beyond]

21 December, 2008 | 3.52AM

• Written by: Lee Smith
• Filed under: Music Recommendations: beyond, gonno

‘Tis the season for lush, melodic techno, and this first release from mysterious new label Beyond is bursting with elegant, Detroit-inspired moods.

Flanked by a remix from Donnacha Costello, Japanese producer Gonno’s richly textured sound will find favour with fans of deep, classically-inclined techno of the highest order.

The lead track is a hazy blend of whispering pads and fuzzy, low-key percussion, echoing the second wave ‘romantic’ style of Pullen, Craig, Larkin, Deason et al.

Gently abstract but lightly rendered, its nostalgic feel is balanced by some slick contemporary flourishes.

Better still is the syncopated skip of ‘Gagak’, where a smart, intricate, electro groove neatly underpins hymnal melodies and buzzing analogue leads.

Still, most will pick this up for the Costello remix, and rightly so; in keeping with his style of late, Donnacha’s ditched the driving minimal drums and referred again to early ‘90s Detroit, breaking out the 909 claps for a warmly comforting trip down techno’s memory lane.

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