GGGG - Gazé

FireScope: 2022

Not the actual final item from the FireScope camps, but it functionally may as well be. It was the last record to feature the label's brand of vintage IDM, electro and techno, and looks to remain as such for the foreseeable future. Yeah, Kirk Degiorgio released an album of ambient doodles the following year, but that seemed like a bit of obligatory business from FireScope, not a continuation of the print's manifesto - a coda if you will. Will Steve Rutter's label ever make a comeback though? Well, he'll need to rediscover the creative spark that got it going in the first place. That... may take some time, unfortunately. Even scene veterans can feel the crushing weight of apathy, more so when you're being counted upon to give up-and-comers some increased shine.

Gabriel de Varine chose an... unusual alias for his techno work (man, I hope Google doesn't decide to flag me for it), though I don't know how dedicated to the project he is. Lord Discogs doesn't list many items to his name or any other, instead spotlighting his D.KO Records as his career highlight. A humble little Parisian print, it mostly focused on house throughout the '10s, but it wouldn't surprise me if Gab' felt as much an itch for the other side too. Create a new alias to explore it, get the attention of one of that scene's luminaries, and before you know it, you've got a spiffy double-LP on the market with a cosmic kitty on the cover art. Guess there was worse ways to spend the Pandemic Years.

As mentioned, if Gazé is among the last of FireScope's releases, it's about as perfect an encapsulation of the label's legacy as I've heard (well, save another B12 outing, but y'know what I mean). Opener K-Robot OG feeds off classic electro while beefing it with IDM trickery and ambient techno warmth, while follow-up Cas Contact sounds like a spiritual successor to Aphex Twin's Heliosphan. Which is either a testament to the lasting influence SAW 86-92 imparts three decades on, or how insanely ahead of the curve Mr. James' music remains. Then Broutine Lamé goes beatless, spritely pulsing synths and delicate melodies shimmering about, and oh man, we're not in for a strict genre exercise with this album, are we!

If there was ever any specific criticism I've had with FireScope, it was that many of their releases tended to sound samey throughout. If Gazé is gonna' give us some diversity though, then yes, I can legit say this is will be a great final album for the label. If the rest of the music holds up to its promising start, anyway.

Fortunately for fans of the original Artificial Intelligence, it does. The variety carries on, some tracks getting heavier with robo-funk (120U Piano), dubby electro (Slowdry), spacey IDM (Trip 2 Delinc), ultra-melodic arps (Mudla 2.2), and even ambient drone (Sac Ala Blofel). Man, kinda' makes me wish more of FireScope's output had showed this much of a stylistic smorgasbord.

John Shima - The Empty Lands

FireScope: 2022

Seems the label B12 built has gone relatively quiet as of late. This album from Mr. Shima came out some eighteen months ago, and FireScope has only seen two more items released since. The ambient leaning Origins from Kirk Degiorgio was the lone record out from the print in 2023, itself a year ago, to say nothing of drawing a blank for this year thus far. While it feels premature assuming Steven Rutter had to scuttle FireScope or something, it can't help but seem like the label's best days are behind it, their brand of retro-future IDM and vintage, bleepy ambient techno having enjoyed its mini-revival, now done and dusted. Maybe it'll see another flurry of action again, but if not, t'was a solid run of six years.

If FireScope is truly mothballed, it feels appropriate John Shima would have one of the label's final releases. His Elements Unknown single was the first to break from the initial B12 run, even introducing the sci-fi style of cover art that was as much a part of the print's aesthetic as anything musical. I'm always for symmetry in my narratives, and even if this is mere coincidence, it's nifty seeing the FireScope saga end similarly to how it began.

Actually, listening to The Empty Lands, I kinda' hear why the label's fortunes may have diminished some. Don't get me wrong, this is still music I generally enjoy, but it cannot be denied Mr. Rutter cultivated a very specific style to his print - techno that sounds like vintage B12, for the most part. That's cool and all for a while, but when there hasn't been much evolution from that, it can grow rather samey-sounding. Save for die-hard collectors and completists, incentive to keep splurging on records lessens when it seems like you're just buying the same thing again and again.

If I were to take any of Mr. Shima's tracks from The Empty Lands and replace them with something from Elements Unknown or The Lonely Machine, would you be able to tell the difference? At their core, the sounds in play are mostly the same: crisp electro rhythms, smooth sci-fi pads, melancholic melodic leads conjuring vistas of metropolis inhabited by machinery and automatons. John's shown he can go other ways with techno on recent EP's like Tokyo Nights or CPU Modular 1. This is just the FireScope stylee, and you're gonna' get more of it.

And I'm fine with that, really I am. I like the FireScope stylee, and if this truly is about the last of it we'll get to hear, I may as well enjoy it while it's there. Kemx and Desolate have fun little echoing synths that sounds like robots singing. Depart, Desolate, and Mettle are surprisingly chipper compared to how moody the rest of The Empty Lands goes. Sayaka provides the obligatory reflective tune. All solid stuff, just stuff I've heard before, and doing little to distinguish from the rest of FireScope's catalogue. Seems a common refrain from me, lately.

John Shima - The Lonely Machine

FireScope: 2019

It's been a spell since I last talked up John Shima. Part of that is due to the man's own output, mostly sticking to vinyl releases these last few years, and about half a dozen of them at that. Not to mention drifting from label to label in doing so, making it such that only the most hardcore of Shima fans could follow.

Which I can't claim being, but as a follower of the FireScope family, I certainly kept my eye on him for any future releases on the print. Sadly, that's been skint as well, an EP, a collaboration with label-head Steve Rutter, and an LP the extent of his works thus far. And that LP, this here The Lonely Machine, was released over three years ago. All these factors combined (plus, erm, my own tardiness in picking this up), and yes, it's definitely been a spell since John Shima last appeared here.

What's funny – at least to me – is with my grabbing of The Lonely Machine, I'm now completely up-to-date on FireScope album releases. At least, those produced by artists other than Mr. Rutter. Granted, the label's roster isn't robust, and their focus on EPs doesn't exactly offer a wide range of LPs to gorge upon. Surely someone else is waiting in the wings for their crack at it though? Bauri's been around for a while, how about him? Or a Kirk Degirogio joint would be interesting. Steevio, mayhaps?

Anyhow, this is another darn fine collection of Detroit-leaning, retro-future techno performed in that vintage FireScope way. Like, I've been covering FireScope for a while now, so folks should have some inkling of what the label's in-house style entails. Gotta' get in those nitty-gritty details though, just so y'all know what differentiates Mr. Shima from the other acts on this label.

Well, if Derek Carr is the more Detroit purist, or Morphology goes more electro, then John is definitely on the chill side of techno. Not outright ambient or anything, but opener Intel certainly has a light, airy feeling with spritely melodies as lean synths glide along laid-back broken beats. Follow-up Airwaves goes even deeper on the 'inner reflection' vibes, with tracks like Migrate and the titular closer not far behind. Some tunes do up the pace to something more dancefloor friendly, Distrust and Linear even getting in a little acid action, though we're still quite far from peak-time techno here. Throw in a couple slightly experimental tracks (Electronic Slaves on the electro side, Accepting on the ambient side), add a loose theme of a future-shock civilization on the verge of revolt, and you have a tidy ten tracker from John Shima.

And then there's Empires! Okay, the sweeping grand synths already made this tune tops in my books, but there's something about those backing, bouncing sounds. The ones that clank and hum in a fashion that has certain nostalgia triggers flaring. Less Detroit techno, more UK. Is that... an Orbital influence I'm hearing?

Morphology - Horta Proxima

FireScope: 2020

Not to say Morphology isn't a suitable fit for FireScope, but man, did their debut on the label ever come off as an odd man out. I'm not even talking musically, their melodic songcraft nicely rubbing shoulders on the print that B12 built. Still, the duo's electro purism couldn't help but clash a little with the more IDM-leaning techno of the surrounding roster. Beyond that though, I'm talking about the utterly drab, beige cover-art of Traveller. FireScope has, if nothing else, offered quite the selection of fantastical sci-fi aesthetics, eye grabbing artwork that one can easily get lost in as the retro-future rhythms emanate from nearby speakers. All except for Morphology's album, nothing more than a barren, empty crawlspace in an unremarkable space-station. It's certainly a choice, and may even suite the electro vibe Matti and Michael cultivate, but does little in standing out on a label like FireScope.

So I'm glad that, if nothing else, we've got something a little more colourful for Morphology's follow-up on FireScope, Horta Proxima. At first glance, it's still a stark, almost barren bit of scenery, but at least we have some nice contrast in the darks and oranges. Looking deeper though, and you discover there's all sorts of odd, mysterious artifacts in this landscape. Is that some sort of ruin? A living creature? A bio-mechanical monstrosity? So many possibilities, though I'm certain ninety percent of you have already thought of that one episode of classic Star Trek.

In any event, Horta Proxima is indeed the latest album from Morphology, which means is yet another of those quirky items on FireScope where an LP is split between two CDs of EP length. Yeah, yeah, it's meant to replicate the vinyl experience of having an album on two separate discs, which was a bit novel when Morphology broke that barrier with Traveller. Now that Steven Rutter, John Shima, and Derek Carr have also gotten in on that however, it doesn't feel quite so novel. Whatever, you do you, FireScope.

(*DE-DAE-DE DUN-DUUNN* BREAKING NEWS!!
As I was writing this, FireScope announced a Mophology box-set ...kinda'. Two separate albums titled Twelve, out on four CDs or records, with cover-art that's... very techno traditionalist. So much for falling lock-step with rest of the label)

Whichever disc of Horta Proxima you throw on first, they play out in similar fashion. The first couple tracks feature the most 'FireScope'-y of the tracks, closer to the domain of melodic IDM and sci-fi techno, followed by an assault of bumpin' electro, closing off with something on the downbeat. Or the whole thing plays out in two halves, if you go the digital route. When Morphology let the melodies carry, they fit right at home with FireScope, but whenever the robots start gettin' down, they remain odd cybermen out. Throughout it all though, their mint, angular beatcraft and thick bass tones resolutely keep the propah' electro fires burning bright. Preferably glimmering across chrome-painted star cruisers.

Derek Carr - Arrival

FireScope: 2021

Man, it feels good seeing Derek Carr getting his due. Not that I can claim to be some long-standing fan of the man's work, as if I've been listening to his music since the Copper Beech E.P. I only stumbled upon him by happenstance with The Digital Space Race, and while enjoyed that album, didn't reconnect until he connected with FireScope for Distant Systems.

He's released a fair amount of material between those moments, but it seems his profile's quite taken off since releasing Contact on Subwax Excursion (Model 500 artwork nod likely helped). Many EPs on many labels have since come out, plus a four-record retrospective on For Those That Knoe, and man, have the plaudits ever blown up on Discogs. Seems Mr. Carr felt it was a good time for a revisit to FireScope, a full LP outing in Arrival. Which means two vinyl records. Or two CDs etched with vinyl grooves. FireScope sure loves its FOMO-triggering mediums.

Let me get this out of the way: if you're familiar with FireScope's brand of techno tunes, there isn't much different going on here. This is a lane Steve Rutter's print has firmly made for themselves, and are resolute in adhering to their musical manifesto. Intelligent techno for our doe-eyed gazes into the future, rhythms for cruising interstellar highways, melodies for sci-fi city-scapes. I cannot deny hoping Derek would branch a little more from this, maybe provide a banger, or even an ambient interlude for a more complete album experience, but 'tis not to be. This is a label that still has traditional vinyl as its primary listening format (however many records that may take per release), which will forever lead to LPs being rather tracky as a playback.

Ehgh... I felt icky typing that, but it needed to be said, the little naggy knit in my head demanding it. For as much as I enjoy Derek's Detroit vibes throughout Arrival, I cannot deny it being a bit samey throughout too. For sure there is some difference between the two halves (or both records; or both CDs). If anything, the second part has more rhythmic heft, Haemoglobin providing a nice little trunk-rumbler of a bassline with its spritely melodies and floaty synth sweeps. Droidworld features a funky little bassline of its own in support of an almost melancholic musical lead, while Apollo does a laid-back low-slung shuffle while synth pads and future strings cruise about. Inside Out and MCR get more on vintage Detroit vibes, about what we can expect out of most Derek Carr tunes these days.

If it seems like I'm writing off the first half (sides A & B; disc one), don't get it twisted. I like it just fine, in that I like mostly everything out of FireScope. There's even some fun playfulness in tracks like Alaska Blue and Anoat System. I just felt things picked up when the beats picked up, which gets back to my annoyingly incessant desire for diverse long-players.

Steven Rutter - BrainFog

FireScope: 2018

A significant album for Steve Rutter, in that this was his first full-length under his own name. He'd already tested the waters with the From Me To You EP the year prior, even as B12 records were still being released, but if he didn't want to continue relying on that bit of legacy, it was time to go all in, fully committed to producing as 'Steven Rutter' from here on out. Unless Michael Golding hooked back up with him for some more music. No sense not dusting the B12 moniker off then.

BrainFog would also commit FireScope to the LP format. The label had already put out Morphology's Traveller (a criminally overlooked outing of spacey electro), but for a print primarily making its hay with digital EPs and collector's vinyl (not to mention vinyl-etched novelty CDs), upping the ante with double LPs could be a risky business vent- and they all sell out in an instant. I swear, this hobby sometimes...

So, BrainFog, Steve Rutter's first full-length album (and the first B12 LP since Last Days Of Silence, if you want to get weird about it). I dunno, I'm having a bit of a, erm, brain fog in how to start this one, in that I feel like I'm utterly tapped out of anything fresh to say about Mr. Rutter's brand of stripped-down IDM-leaning techno. I suppose it is more active and involved than the downright minimalist outings he was doing while shopping the B12 brand about other labels, but a good chunk of this album's middle portion seems taken up by sound experiments over bare-bones electro rhythms.

Let me start with where BrainFog shines, when Steve provides a solid techno thump leading the charge. Opener Sleep Gives Freedom mostly works the moody, slow-burn of a track, all about eerie atmosphere, while follow-up Statuesque goes about its business with 808 thuds and a simple synth lead that easily lodges in your head as bleeps and blips dance about. Then it's not until track nine that we get back to the techno, Infinity Engine a nice little trancey number, while Takedown gets its electro robot-groove going with a bassline that's utterly infectious. Damn, do I ever want to hear this one on a massive system, such separation of sound going on here. Final track Hand In Hand's rhythm is more classic Detroitism, but retains the tempo of BrainFog's techno predecessors while keeping mysterious sci-fi feel the rest of the album has.

If anything, that theme is what keeps BrainFog at least an interesting play-through. Yeah, the middle portion has a lot of tracks more interested in sound experiments wrapped around spare IDM rhythms, which keeps with the ol' school Artificial Intelligence ethos. There's also a sense of strange exploration about them though. Like, as though you're navigating through alien caverns, each track some strange, new scenery unseen by human eyes before. Well, except for Squad Free Force. I keep thinking Annie Lennox is about to start singing when that one starts.

Morphology - Traveller

FireScope: 2018

My main nitpick/complaint/petty gripe regarding FireScope has long been their lack of LPs. So many EPs, which is fine and all for the vinyl market, but us CD buyers often crave maor musiks than the standard four-to-five tracks singles provide. Thus imagine my giddiness over seeing an actual ten-track item released on the print! Aw yeah, this Traveller album from Morphology will finally give me the LP experience I've long craved from FireScope. Can't wait for that sucker to arrive in the mail, and slip the CD into my main player where- wait, this has two CDs in it? As in, presented as a double-EP? What in the even...?

No no, let's take this as an opportunity. Yes, I will engage with this 'double-CD' album as though it were a vinyl option, where I must get up from my comfortable sitting/laying position to change the disc/record at the designated point. In this manner, I may help bring closer the divide that has long alienated the vinyl and CD buying populaces. 'Tis not a nobler endeavour I embark upon in this task, my friends?

But first, who are Morphology, and what do they bring to the FireScope family? A duo of Finnish electro lovers, Misters Turunen and Diekmann have been making tunes since the start of this decade (or the end of the last decade; whichever you prefer). They released a couple albums on Syntax Motorcity in that time, plus assorted singles on assorted labels generally skewing to the purist Detroit vision of electro and techno, but with beatcraft a little more complex than your traditional, functional robot rhythms. Not the most obvious link to B12's brand of techno, but enough to hop on over I guess.

CD1 features six tracks, including one ambient doodle. Opener Distant Signal (Distant System!? No...) definitely has that spaced-out electro thing going for it, while Second Light and Farthest Regions are quite airy and charming for electro, for the most part fitting the FireScope vibe. Hidden Variable and Detached go more for the proper electro menace Morphology's earlier works steered under.

That's the end of CD1. Time to get up and change discs. Eh, while I'm up, I may as well check on those taters I have in the oven. Ooh, done! And they smell so delish' right now. Mm, think I'll take a moment to scarf a few, check up on some internet... *one half-hour later* ... Oh, dammit, CD2! Almost forgot about it! *mightily struggles to stand on a sated stomach full of toasty potato*

Man, having that unexpected break sure makes coming into the second half of Traveller in interesting experience. Almost feels like I'm taking in a totally different album, and not just because the electro here is even purer than heard on CD1. Yeah, Bipolar Nebula retains some chipper feels, but that makes sense given the track name. Overall, a neat little listening experiment.

Oh, and Traveller is a boss album of spacey electro too.

Steven Rutter & John Shima - Step Into The Light

FireScope: 2018

Jason McCreadie has already been responsible for some of the pulpier pieces of cover art in FireScope's catalogue, but he done taken the cake here, my friends. Anime fairy girls, in my retro ambient bleep techno? Why I never, could ever, make clever, said Trevor, in this endeavour, forever.

Sorry, I think my mind went and a'sploded again. It simply cannot comprehend what it is seeing here. Like, what even is going on? Some sort of alien invasion? A battle between heaven and hell? A weird interpretation of what happens when our blood trades carbon dioxide for oxygen within our lungs? I mean, those big red pods could be red blood cells, which would make, the fairies, what? Hormonal chemicals? Bodily defences? What's even crazier is this art is in fact double-sided, carrying over to the flip of the package. Naturally, the anime fairy girl there has white hair and wings, because gotta' have those contrasts.

Step Into The Light marked another step in FireScope's expanding, erm, scope, in that it was the first collaborative outing among its roster of producers. Because even if the classic B12 line-up is no more, that doesn't mean Mr. Rutter couldn't team up with all these cats clearly inspired by the music he and Golding were making so many years past. Thus it's only appropriate that the first of these pairings would include John Shima, the first outside the B12 wheel-house to make his mark on the label. Broken Spell opens things up with that distinct crisp electro rhythm and mellow melody many a FireScope EP features, eventually giving shine to a light plucky lead that reminds me of ancient Alter Ego. Skywards does the deeper business, mostly letting the rhythms do the work with subdued backing synth pads lending an ominous tone to the track. A New Day is more of a straight-forward ambient techno tune with vintage bleep action, while Disjointed Route slows things down to a groovier pace with a bell-tone bassline that has my Biosphere sensors triggered. How all this relates to anime fairy girls tripping the light fantastic has me though.

Sorry, I know I shouldn't keep coming back to it, but this cover art fascinates me. It's just not something you'd ever see in techno, no matter which vein you follow in that scene. The cartooniest it ever got was with its nods to pulp sci-fi, and that was quickly jettisoned when it was declared techno, in all its forms, must remain Serious Business. Heck, even Ken Ishii only flirted with anime once, and had it been anyone other than Koji Morimoto doing the art, probably wouldn't have happened. Meanwhile, the 'loligirl' look was soon adopted by happy hardcore and other infantile music scenes, removing the style completely and utterly from techno's domain forever after.

Not that I wouldn't mind seeing more of this art in techno, that scene's iconography too often staid and monochrome. It needs more primary colours and light, but I guess it's just not good for business.

Steven Rutter - From Me To You

FireScope: 2017

I've reviewed a few artists on FireScope now, but still haven't gotten to the head of the label running the show, B12. Um, I'm still technically not here either, but will a B12 member suffice? What's interesting is, if Lord Discogs is to be believed, this particular EP is the first time since the way-early years of British techno that Mr. Rutter has done solo work. That's... almost unfathomable. Has he never wanted to explore a different sound away from his B12 partner? Like, surely the Plaid boys have done separate work in their spare time. Orbital brothers scratching singular itches specific to their distinct muses. Richard D. James splitting into his individual Richard, D., and James components for associated aliases. I suppose 'better later than never', and considering Michael Golding doesn't have much to do with B12 these days anyway, well...

Oh, did I not mention B12 is mostly a Rutter joint now? Heh, how remiss of me.

Anyhow, after launching FireScope with a run of B12 EPs and re-issues (gotta' lure in the old-schoolers, natch), Rutter started branching out with productions under his own name, beginning with this particular EP, From Me To You. I think the reasoning for this was he wanted to explore sounds away from the classic B12 style (as I said!), though if I'm honest, I suspect he was still unsure of exactly where such explorations should go.

True, I'm far from a B12 expert, but I've sampled enough of their sound to know From Me To You is a rather timid first step out from the duo's long shadow. That's not a bad thing though, as you could always count on them for classy, chill techno with a Detroit bent, and if more of that is what Rutter is giving us, all the better.

Howy-an, opener Down And Down does the bleep techno thing of days past, but with spiffy modern production reminding you this stuff still sounds as futuristic as it did nearly three decades ago (holy cow!). Second cut Decliner Box is a deeper, moodier affair, less on the bleep and more on the bloop. It's also only three and a half minutes long, which is seems rather short for any techno of this sort. Was there no other avenues those sinister backing pads could be taken? The Life Giver stretches things out to a whopping five minutes, though too is a moody affair, its defining characteristic away from the usual bleepiness is a muted skippity rhythm. I can't say there's much going on with these tracks, only standing out because they're different from the usually chipper B12 stylee.

The closing seven-minute downtempo piece The Battle Continues does have the vibe of vintage ambient techno, in that the minimalist chill tone would fit right in on Artificial Intelligence. Still, the impression I get is Rutter could use another voice in the studio to flesh out his ideas. Considering how subsequent EPs turned out, I suspect he realized it too.

Darren Nye - Emotional Intelligence

FireScope: 2017

This label hasn't released a huge amount of items since B12 launched it a few years back, which is fine because FireScope clearly aims at having each record be something special. Trouble is, and I know this sounds utterly entitled, I feel they could be just a little more. Artwork, lovely! Presentation, wonderful! Music, top grade! Amount of music ...eh, always an EP, never an LP. And I get it, FireScope mostly a digital-and-vinyl outlet – it's great they offer a CD option at all. Whenever I order something from them though, and have to pay that extra-extra shipping cost from the U.K., I just wish I was getting more music for my money, y'know? Again, total nonsense whine here, especially when you compare to what vinyl enthusiasts pay for shipping on the regular. Still, I can't be the only one hoping Brexit happens soon, so the British pound collapses and it won't be so expensive ordering things from- eh? You say the Canadian dollar would likely fall too if that happens? Well, forget it then, Brexit's a silly idea.

Anyhoo, Darren Nye (not the science guy – sorry, sorry, I promise that's the only time I'll do that). He first emerged a decade ago on Organica Music Labworks with a trio of digital EPs, but didn't seem to make much hay from it. However, one John Shima also had an EP out on that label, so when Mr. Shima got an item out on FireScope, I assume he put in a good word for Mr. Nye (being an admitted B12 fan also likely helped grease those wheels), and soon enough Emotional Intelligence emerged on on the label. The experience must have re-invigorated Darren's music-making passion, as he's been on an absolute tear of productivity in the year since, establishing his own SpaceTime digital-label to release material, including aliases such as PlanktonWarrior and The Elusive Man (I understand that reference!).

As for this particular EP, truth is I've not much more to add that I haven't already said on previous FireScope reviews. Though there are differences in how each producer approaches the craft, there's definitely something of a 'house style' running through them all, which is fine. If a label run by the guys behind B12 are comfortable releasing music that sounds like B12 and music by artists who've been inspired by B12 sounding like B12, then that's their prerogative. Works for those of us that dig that B12 stylee, it does.

Opener Things She Said works that spacey, chipper ambient techno vibe, Emulated Emotion goes deeper into the synth pad washes and reverb effects (burble acid!), while Plasmid Soul's rhythm touches closer to the realms of electro than Detroit techno (it's a very thin border, almost a Venn Diagram). Fragments has a thicker, broken beat going for it, a bit rather experimental compared to the other tracks, but Disconnected Reality is a straight-up chill fest, half-tempo dubby rhythms and spaced-out pad work. So retro, so lush.

John Shima - Elements Unknown

FireScope: 2017

But really, how cool is FireScope Records? Like, obviously B12's little label won't win many ultra-hip awards anytime soon, but the print is so deliciously retro, it can't remain a hidden treasure much longer. From the ageless spacey techno they promote, to the pulp sci-fi artwork their releases adorn, it has everything folks fond of phuture muzik can hope for. My only gripe is shipping from them is brutal expensive, but that's what I get for living in the coastal paradise that is the Pacific Northwest (we have our down days too). Or still handing out for physical copies. Could be worse though. I could be ordering the vinyl options, and Lord Nelly is the shipping costs for that beyond brutal – like, BDSM for the music connoisseur. Puts 'buying the vinyl' into perspective though.

When the boys behind B12 started expanding their label to include more artists, John Shima was the first to get the nod. Something of a journeyman producer, Mr. Shima first made his debut with the Fader EP on digital-only label Red Robot Records in 2010, offering up three tracks of deliberately throwback Detroit techno. Fine and dandy, though I don't think many folks noticed it at the time, as techno itself was still in the throes of navel-gazing minimalism, and why should anyone give much care that a UK guy was making Detroit techno. Only Detroit dudes and German guys could make Detroit techno in 2010, if any were making it at all.

John though, he kept plugging along, releasing single after single on label after label, even appearing on that Touched Bass cancer benefit a whole slew of techno producers contributed to. I suspected in the Bauri review that this project was how he came into contact with B12, and now we have another suspect in this FireScope drafting! Once is happenstance, twice a coincidence, but if I come across a third producer from that compilation also on FireScope...

If you've been following Mr. Shima's career since his start, then you'll be in fine, familiar hands with Elements Unknown. Of course, the odds of that being the case with my reader-base is astronomically low, so here's an obligatory rundown of the four tracks present. Elements: nice, chill spacey vibe, with soft electro beats and burbling acid bassline. Symbols: more pure Detroit on the rhythm end, including a little thudding 808, all the while spaced-out synths and blippy-bloopy melodies ride in support. Implant: straight-forward techno, this one, though spacey, loopy, and melodic; could easily fit in an old-school Laurent Garnier 'trance' set. Illuminate: back to the downbeat electro vibes, or ambient techno if you will, since it totally would have made the cut on one an Artificial Intelligence compilations.

Which is great, if you dig that era of techno! Or not, if you don't know it all. Yeah, Elements Unknown doesn't shake the FireScope stylee one iota, but then I doubt B12 brought John Shima on for any other reason than to stay their course.

Bauri - Vinkelvolten

FireScope: 2017

Bauri is Martin Abrahamsson, a very bearded person in the world of techno. He started out in the late '90s self-releasing material on his own Saundart print, but soon got picked up for an album called Slacker Journal by Lee Norris' original label Neo Ouija. The project then went into mothballs for a while, as Mr. Abrahamsson teamed up with Thomas Jaldemark as Donk Boys to release trendy minimal plonk-house. When that grew out of fashion, Martin dusted off the Bauri alias and joined forces with Nihad Tule for a run of Serious Minimal Techno on Drumcode.

Somewhere along the way, his earlier IDM-leaning works under the guise got picked up for compilation duty on the cancer charity label Touched, rubbing shoulders with many IDM and ambient techno legends old and new. As B12 also recently released music on that label, it follows that they came into contact with Bauri this way, and is how Bauri has an EP out on their Firescope print now. Or, y'know, Mr. Abrahamsson just heard about B12's label through the grapevine, and sent them some stuff for consideration. Occam's Razor, and all.

In any event, Bauri's come full circle with Vinkelvolten (translated to... “angle volts”? “angle revolt”? Angle-something, according to Google Translate... my Scandinavian is mayonasse). After all those years chasing the trends, he's gone back to the genre that's forever unbankable but always adored by die-hard electronic music connoisseurs: ambient techno. Unless he did at another point between this and the clinical dub techno of RISE586, though Lord Discogs doesn't suggest so.

Opener Warm Fuzzy Feeling makes no bone about what sort of vibe you're gonna' feel. The moment you hear that lazily bobbing acid bass and gentle melodic leads, all the ancient Apollo and Warp compilation memories will flood through your brain matter. Warm Fuzzy Feeling has more of a vintage Aphex-chill vibe to it though, whereas the following three tunes edge closer to the realms of Boards Of Canada. Maybe not so much in generating those hazy hauntologic triggers, but certainly in providing the laid-back trip-hop rhythms with an IDM aesthetic. Or is that a Plaid thing? I need to hear more Plaid to confirm.

Kirmumxyl is fairly simple, a nice beat with minor clicky-glitch effects complimenting a gentle melody. The titular cut goes comparitively abrasive on the rhythm end, with lots of click-clack and bleepy electro sounds, but the melody is no less chill than anything else. Final cut Amethyst is the closest Boardsy tune here, coming off playful and cheery, Bauri even throwing in playful skippity vocal snippets. It's certainly a far cry from the Serious Techno he'd been making, and might be a shock to those who only know him for that (or even Donk Boys) – pleasant or not likely dependent on your particular taste. For those who were vibing on Mr. Abrahamsson since the Neo Ouija days, however, they'll definitely enjoy Vinkelvolten a great deal. It's practically tailor-made for such tastes.

Derek Carr - Distant Systems

Firescope: 2017

When I heard there was a new album from Distant System, I couldn't believe it. I've been keeping tabs on Tyler Smith's wonderful, neglected project for ages now, and to have it suddenly pop up out of nowhere? That can't be right! But the cover art sure looks like something the psy side of music would put out. What's going on with- oh, it's an album titled Distant Systems, from Irish techno producer Derek Carr (not to be confused with NFL quarterback Derek Carr). Well, that's almost as spiffy – I liked Mr. Carr's The Digital Space Race, and was interested in developments his career would take since Psychonavigation Records imploded. Still, unintentional as it was, it's a bit of a tease calling his new EP Distant Systems from where I'm sitting. The struggle is real...

Anyhow, Derek Carr has found himself a new home with an intriguing little print called Firescope, who's parent label is B12 Records. Yes, that B12, they of early UK techno legend with Warp Records. I can't say I've gotten into the duo to the same degree as their peers like The Black Dog and Aphex Twin, for no better reason than none of my compilation purchases ever led me to their music. Yes, it's that stupid a reason, but they've remained active, dusting off their own self-titled print a decade ago to release a bunch of back-catalogue for the digital era. For some reason, B12 set up a whole new label in Firescope to release their newer material (just this past year!), and have started inviting like-minded producers into their fold. We'll see how things pan out in time, but if they keep bringing in talent like Derek Carr, it'll be far indeed.

If you missed that Digital Space Race review, or somehow overlooked the super sci-fi cover art, Mr. Carr does a Detroit techno thing with an ear to the great above and beyond. Distant Systems maintains that tone, a tidy four-tracker that goes down easy-peasy as a space-based pie (popular diner option near Jupiter 2). Artifice 2 has a simple electro rhythm going for it, with little bloopy pings, haunting pads, and rich sweeping synths in the lead. Terrahawk gets a tad funkier in its electro, coupling with gentle trance pads and bleepy-acid leads. 3 3 8 9 reuses the same pads (kinda' reminds me of the ones used by A Positive Life), but opts for the techno groove instead – essentially a 'deep' version of Terrahawk. If you need an even deeper cut though, East Is East has you covered, a simple slice of chill Detroit goodness, good for the afterhours.

Of course, Derek's ear for techno bleeds retro, so if you don't have much use for tunes that sound plucked from the glory years of Artificial Intelligence, Distant Systems may not be your bag. Can't imagine many such folk existing though - maybe those religiously weaned on the minimal monotony of the '00s, and nothing else.