Technical Itch - Find Your Darkness

Tech Itch Recordings: 2020

It took over two decades, but Mark Caro finally released a proper second Technical Itch album. Yeah, yeah, he's put out several Progression Threat and Digitally Ascended LPs, not to mention so many singles that you'd need a multi-CD box-set to house all the music within. Those were all for tracks though, the sort of listening experience that, while fine as a collection of tunes, still lack that all important thematic flow the best albums have. And I know Mr. Caro is capable of it, his debut Tech Itch album Diagnostics still a mesmerizing assault of darkstep business to this day. Speaking of, when might we see a re-issue of that record? Surely rescuing it from Moving Shadow legal limbo shouldn't be this last longing?

I'm sure Mark has his reasons for not returning to the album format for so long, chief among them there wasn't much need to. He was sustaining a tidy career through singles, all the while maintaining his own labels in Penetration Records and Tech Itch Recordings. I wonder though, if the flurry of proper albums from the likes of Doom Poets, Voyage, and Brakken coming out on the latter print inspired him some. Heck, was he maybe involved in the production of those? He definitely was part of Biostacis, a mini-group that enjoyed a semi-revival in 2015. Whichever way you want to frame it, bottom line is, hey, new Technical Itch album!

And nothing states this is a Proper Album than an ambient intro. Following that, Modified Code drops us right back into familiar Technical Itch territory, crusty aggressive 2-step action with wailing synth backdrops and paranoid vocal samples. Stand Down brings on the Amen breakcore business, all the while maintaining the cybernetic sonic horror Mark's always been ace at.

All well and good, the production top notch, but what if you're kinda' yearning for something a little more retro, from the early days of darkstep? Can't deny the titular cut has my Diagnostics nostalgia triggers flaring. The 2-step and rolling bassline sound like it could have come from that album, and there's acid! 'Member when Technical Itch included a hardcore acid track on Diagnostics? Ooh, I 'member! Elsewhere, B28 and Machine Ghosts gets down on some basic groove ridin' swagger, while Alien gets all moody and minimal. Well, about as minimal as you'd expect from a Technical Itch cut. And speaking of ol' school, The Eagle's grimy vibe definitely has me feeling those classic Ed Rush & Optical vibes. Oh, you want only the latest technological advancements in your darkstep? Uh, first thing, that's not really what the Tech Itch label's about. But sure, Violent Instinct, The Angels and Belief go about as fuckin' hard as this genre allows without crossing the scenes.

A triumphant return to albums for Technical Itch, then? Ah, it's good, but not Diagnostics great. Find Your Darkness is plumb for choice cuts that are nicely sequenced, but lacks the whirlwind ride of narrative flow Tech Itch's debut had.

Technical Itch - Progression Threat - Part One

Tech Itch Digital: 2013

A follow-up to Diagnostics. That's all we wanted. Relentless singles were nice an all, but another long-form outing from Technical Itch was what we craved. Even a consolidation of all those wayward EPs into a compilation would be dope. Just something longer than a two or three track release, feeding us those industrial-grade drums and basses. No, not those Digitally Ascended mini-albums, that's the wrong genre. Heck, the wrong scene, no matter how much d'n'b and dubstep were getting chummy. We was hungry for that darkstep dining, and wanted Technical Itch to keep feedin' us, and feedin' us, and feedin' us with full-course meals.

Ask (beg?), and you shall receive, Mark Caro giving us not one, not two, but three servings of Progression Threat. I wouldn't call these full-blown proper albums like Diagnostics, but at ten tracks each, is plenty 'nuff of the rough and rugged jungle business for folks that need their d'n'b fixes in larger than single-serving portions.

And yes, I'm not calling Progression Threat a proper-proper album roll-out on the same level as Diagnostics. If this were, in fact, a real-real album, there would have been a vinyl roll-out, maybe a box-set with CD option, the whole shebang. Yeah, yeah, the whole point of Tech Itch Digital was to release things primarily in a digital format, but even in ye' olde year of 2013, enough folks would divvy up dollars for hard copies, guaranteeing a return on a run of records. Anyhow...

I know Mr. Caro has flitted about other jungle styles over the years, but when opener Sun Eater, um, opens, I almost thought we'd be in for something on the atmospheric tip. Such a tranquil pad refrain, calm and floating, as though gazing upon Sol from afar. No, wait, here come some menacing overtones, a feral bassline, aggressive drums. Oh no! It's Unicron, come to eat the sun! I should have known better than to expect 'dolphin d'n'b' from an album with titles like Oblivion Survival, Soul Gritter, and Day Sleeper on it.

Jokes aside, this was definitely the Technical Itch, erm, itch that needed scratching after my dashed expectations following Digitally Ascended, Vol. 3. From there we get a nice variety of aggro thrashers (the aforementioned tunes; Code Weave), twitchy tech-steppers (Progress Trap, the titular cut), Led-heavy stompers (Someone Else), and... Gosh, is that a stab at Squarepusher jazz-fusion in My Being? Like, not quite so spastic cut-up as Jenkinson can go, and Mark does bring the beef later in the track, but still, a nice divergence from the norm.

And that's all there is to Progression Threat – Part One. Yeah, little need for deep analysis here. It's Mark Caro dropping nine tracks of what he does best, with one spicy outlier for flavour. Are the other Progression Threats the same? I don't know, I haven't heard them yet. For now, this was enough to sate my appetite. Besides, there's a full-course meal about to get served soon.

Technical Itch - Digitally Ascended Vol. 3

Tech Itch Recordings: 2017

Technical Itch was clearly content sticking to the singles market, so I gave up hope on ever hearing another long-player from the man, Diagnostics a once in a blue moon event. Much time passes, and I feel a tingling sensation in the back of my head, like a sentient nerve poking me with the question, “I wonder if Mark Caro has anything on Bandcamp?” And holy cow, does he ever, not only releasing tons of fresh material via his own label this past decade, but bringing in new artists that share his classic darkstep aesthetic. With actual physical media too, including CDs! Hot damn, I gotta' get me in on some of that action, but it seems the only hard-copy item currently available from Technical Itch himself is this Digitally Ascended Vol. 3. Whatever, it's gotta' be dope, the man incapable of wrong after such a storied career!

And... he's taken a stab at trap. *sigh*... When will I learn?

Personal petty petulance aside, I'm not tut-tutting Technical Itch here. Doing a modicum of research would have clued me into the fact that this Digitally Ascended series was started way back in 2009 as a means for Mr. Caro to explore that trendy dubstep thing going on, and carried on with other stabs at the slower, grittier side of bass music; for the d'n'b purists, he had the Progression Threat series. Some time in the mid-'10s, he started rolling Tech Itch Digital material into the parent label Tech Itch Recordings, finally offering hard copy options for stubborn holdouts (*cough*). Digitally Ascended Vol. 3 was the first of his own releases to come out during this phase, hence why it was the first Tech Itch item I saw available as CD. There's promise of more to come though, oh yes.

And you may be thinking, what's the big deal about Tech Itch branching out? Nothing at all, but this is one of those cases where his top-notch production doesn't fit the sound he's trying. Trap is all about stripping things down to bare essentials, the most rudimentary drum sounds available from your 808 emulator. In Mr. Caro's hands though, with his menacing widescreen atmospherics, these drum tracks end up sounding like demos or, at best, something from the halcyon days of audio bass sub-whoofer stress testers. The dubstep tracks are only marginally better, in that they aren't far removed from what the genre did sound like in its infancy.

Fortunately, Digitally Ascended Vol 3 offers surprisingly more variety than the early portions of the album suggested. There's a couple dark ambient tracks here (August Ends, Separka), for all your psychological thriller needs. Elsewhere, Rememberance edges as close to tech-step as this series would probably allow, while the final two cuts (Strangest Form Of Magic, Touched By The Gods) have more a trip-hop vibe going for them. Good stuff, just a shame the comparatively under-produced first half of the album sours a full listening experience for me.

Technical Itch - Diagnostics

Moving Shadow: 1999

Technical Itch was easily among the best names to emerge from the darkstep side of late 90s jungle, but his bizarre refusal to release a follow-up album to Diagnostics has left me wanting. Sure, tons and tons of singles, and perhaps Caro just feels comfortable sticking to that format. I see no reason why he should fear the long-player though, as he’s capable of knocking it out of the park.

Ah, I sense your Over-Hype Alarms beeping. Fair play, but you probably won’t find many hyping Diagnostics these days, if only for the fact it’s over a decade old now. Even then, this passed by with little notice. For whatever reason, Moving Shadow didn’t give the album much promotion, even though Dieselboy and other darkstep DJs pushed Caro’s tracks whenever they could. My enthusiasm for Diagnostics, however, stems not from a deluded belief that I own a buried treasure, but I'll argue this album is something of a rarity for jungle of the 90s.

Fact is, solid d’n’b albums from beginning to end were scarce that decade. Goldie’s Timeless managed to crossover, Roni Size/Reprazent’s New Forms provided some class, and Photek’s Modus Operandi was hailed as a game changer, yet beyond that? Certainly one could find the odd strong album within the niche areas of jungle, but for the most part that scene was a single’s game, the best long-players being compilations or DJ mixes. Even albums would come off as collections of singles.

Diagnostics does not. Whether by accident or design, Caro crafted a proper album, where each track builds upon what came before, all the while offering something different to keep your attention. The Technical Itch aesthetic – aggressive, abrasive, on edge, with a touch of future-shock – is the only linker between these cuts.

First few tracks display Caro's drum programming, which are fine, but when he drops the rhythmic intricacy and goes for the jugular is when Diagnostics truly takes off. Era's a great piece of darkstep, but Led will pummel you, so appropriately named because the bass in that one's heavy as fuck. Even though they both rely on the familiar 2-step Amen, Caro makes each iteration totally unique to his sound. Then he mixes things up with what might be daftly described as industrial broken-beat, and follows that one with a blistering acid workout that would have the London acid techno crew quivering. Oh, Reborn's still a jungle track – the bass drops are awesome! - but c'mon. Acid! Jungle! Together, and brilliant!

The album finishes strong with more darkstep tunes, though save Darkhalf, mostly winds things down while maintaining that twitchy edge. If there's any fault to be had with Diagnostics, it's that it makes no apologies for sticking to its niche, but that’s a complaint of nearly any jungle album, and few come away sounding as varied as this one does. Despite the limited ‘for darkstep fans’ scope, Technical Itch proves it can work in the long-player form.

Technical Itch - Haunted/Wraith (Original TC Review)

Penetration Records: Cat. # TIP019
Released January 2006

Track List:
A. Haunted (6:13)
AA. Wraith(6:54)


(2010 Update:
Still no album, though plenty more singles in the digital realm. Like so many other jungle producers, Caro's also taken a few stabs at dubstep this past year. I've yet to hear them but if they're just as evil as his d'n'b, I should definitely try and scope 'em out.)


IN BRIEF: Evil business.

I’ve heard very few producers out there that sound like Mark Caro, more commonly known as Technical Itch. His fusion of industrial strength sounds with manic jungle rhythms can leave you gasping for air when the track is done. If you don’t have a good set of speakers that are generous with the bass, you can probably kiss those speakers goodbye when you’re finished with a typical Tech Itch song. It doesn’t just pound at you like a good deal of darkstep (the sub-genre term for this stuff -yeah, silly name, isn’t it) does; it’ll envelope you, clutch your very body in its firm grasp, then plaster you across the wall, leaving you looking like that poor guy who took a rocket launcher to the gut in Hot Shots: Part Deux. Well, maybe not quite that severe, but you get the drift.

But Caro wouldn’t have earned himself a highly regarded reputation if he was just all about killer bass sequences. This man’s rhythms can be utterly chaotic compared to all the typical Amen Break clones jungle’s overflowing with. Yes, he does rely on the standard break a great deal but the amount of manipulation with the sounds in effect is probably only taken further in the drill’n’bass camps of the IDM crowds. They are always dynamic, always filled with personal improvisation to suit the track, and never sound the same between songs. Throw in Caro’s use of choking, meanacing sound effects for his leads and ambience, and you have yourself a producer that has managed to stay ahead of his peers for many years.

It’s just a shame he’s only released one full-length album on CD despite all of his vinyl singles. It makes it tough for us CD buying crowds to keep up (if you remain honest and don’t download music illegally, that is). Sure, we have his numerous tracks appear on Moving Shadow compilations or Dieselboy DJ mixes, but it sure would be nice to have another Technical Itch full-length to follow-up the great Diagnostics. (yeah, that’s a hint in case you be reading this, Mr. Caro... but I’m sure you’ve heard it for the last five years anyways)

Anyhow, with that bit of intro out of the way for our non-jungle readers here at TranceCritic, let’s get into this latest Technical Itch single.

Haunted sees Caro going about business as usual. Eerie ambience with creepy dialogue provide the setting with numerous sounds and effects I’ve heard before recycled here from other Technical Itch tracks -they are by no means unwelcome; it’s just apparent. The strength of the track, of course, lies in the percussion, and Caro doesn’t waste a single beat. It is constantly busy, pounding and hammering away at you, never really settling into an easy loop for you to get a feel for. The moment you think you can guess how the next measure of rhythm will play out, our intrepid producer will throw in a random snare roll or guttural bass growl just to mess with us. Fascinating to listen to, probably infuriating to the jungle soldiers trying to bust out their best moves.

Keeping in tune with the horror themes is Wraith, with a suitably sinister synthy intro. The rhythm is still busy once it kicks in but it isn’t the main attraction this time around. Rather, this one’s about showing off various bass noises to suit the demonic vocal sample.

I made a joke in a forum last year: considering the way all things 80s have been seeing a revival, it would only be a matter of time before that spring of nostalgia was utterly tapped dry and we’d be moving onto the early 90s for our retro kicks -including seeing the hoover synth making a glorious return to popularity by the year 2007. Well, Tech Itch may be thinking the same thing as, amongst the typical grimy bass noises oozing about in Wraith, there is also a traditional hoover, um, hoovering at various points. You’d think it might sound cheesy today but there was a reason all those early hardcore rave tracks used it: that sound can be quite menacing when used properly, and Technical Itch certainly knows how to get the most millage out of his sounds.

Both these tracks are worth your attention if you’re in the mood for evil jungle. Caro may not be doing anything too different from what we’ve heard him do before but he can still deliver the goods as Technical Itch when called upon.

Now, about that second artist album...


Score: 7/10


Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2006 for TranceCritic.com. © All rights reserved.