V/A - Delsin 2.0

V/A - DELSIN 2.0 (DELSIN)

Faced with this behemoth of a compilation stretched over 2 CDs, it’s pretty difficult to argue with the fact that Marsel Van Der Wielen’s Delsin is arguably one of, if not the best techno label in the world right now. I will freely admit that early material on it passed me by a bit, but this release, featuring mainstays such as Newworldaquarium, Yoav B, Redshape, Shed and Steve Rachmad from the last 3 years or so, alongside less well known artists such as Delta Funktionen, D5 Van Der Wielen’s own Peel Seamus project and Taho illustrates that the label has a plethora of quality records under its wing and a number of producers who can turn to house or techno with ease.

There’s no doubt that the influence of Detroit seeps through most of the tracks on here, most notably in the melodic sheen of Quince, but unlike a lot of other techno that seeks to emulate the Motor City, a lot here draw upon the spirit of that genre indirectly. The quality shines through in the likes of Redshape’s quxiotice “Steam” and the battering rhythms of Yoav B’s “Organ Satta”. Indeed, it’s somewhat saddening to hear that he has been quiet on the production front since this record. Although he hasn’t ever reached the heights of “My Secret Lifes with Machines”, Steve Rachmad’s “Rond” and “Bot” are quality hypnotic techno, and to my mind the best artist on the label, Jochem Peteri, aka Newworldaquarium, comes up with a magisterial slice of deep house with the glacial “Twenty”.

To be fair, the second CD doesn’t quite match the first, and to my mind the contributions of Vince Watson typify the sort of anodyne techno that I really don’t feel any love for apart from the C2 influenced funk of “Solitude” at the end,  but there are great tracks from the much underrated D5, the sort of offkilter tracks that Shed can produce, and a beautiful record from Chymera near the end. It’s trancey, melodic techno, but it’s done with the sort of nous and laced with the right sort throbbing production values that makes you forget that Detroit Techno was at its height nearly 2 decades ago.

Holland has long been the centre of quality techno, and it’s a real shame that many in Europe seem to forget this. Alongside Clone, Bunker, Rush Hour and Creme, Delsin rightly takes its place in the upper pantheon of quality record labels and this compilation only serves to enhance their already solid reputation. For an insight into leftfield techno, it’s difficult to argue against the strength of their output with it.

Toby Frith