John Heckle - Extrovert/Introvert EP
Toby Frith Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 07:31AM Tabernacle Records
Vintage gear and someone under the age of 25 are a potent mix for techno - it’s a combination of what some might call the “right things” in this age of overpowering digitalism. Certainly when you consider just how young many of those in Detroit and Chicago were when they made their best records, it’s actually quite a rare thing in this sphere nowadays. In fact most people buying them are much older (like myself).
Heckle, a 22 year old from Liverpool, has already released material on Mathematics and the raw, dust-inflected aesthetic has been carried over for this, the fifth release on Glaswegian label Tabernacle. It’s in debt to Virgo and all things Chicago, but unlike many of the chi-town cyphers released today, has a powerful charm.
“r136” swerves and sways with the authority of a house master whilst the title track is one of the roughest tracks you’ll hear, being a ride-cymbal monster. He saves the best for last though, with the eerie “Where are you now”.
Although I’m always a little hesitant in providing fulsome praise to techno that is essentially following in the footsteps of music over 20 years old, it’s difficult to think of a release this year with more warmth and spirit.
Toby Frith
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