Corrosion: Remixes EP 12"

It’s fourteen years ago. Colin Coughley appears and, probably, nobody remembers him. Nobody really got to know him at the time. He released an album under the Anodyne moniker, in 1996, on the Irish Ultramack label, of which only students of the academy of intelligent techno will have heard (it was the label the wonderful Decal released their first works on before moving on to Rotters Golf Club and Satamile). Ultramack used to release purist techno, with some concessions to electro and ambient, everything very brainy, and among the first releases was Coughley’s - sharpening breakbeats, making rage in the form of domesticated hardcore. Since then (“Ultramack 005”, from ‘96), Coughley has remained almost silent, in retirement from the world. This year he reappeared by surprise, without warning, and “Corrosion” has become his second record. Now the remixes are here, and what remixes. Remixes that could only come via someone who lived through the golden age of IDM and is in a position to claim favours, years later: The Black Dog, Autechre and Lackluster are three reasons to track this vinyl down, whatever the cost –it’s limited to 300 copies– like Bin Laden. The contribution of Lackluster is predictable to a certain point –ambient-breakbeat of asphyxiating complexity, with furious ups and downs–, but the one by Autechre is surprising: it’s been years –and years could be even before signing with Warp– since they have executed breaks so uptempo, so revealing of their B-boy past and graffiti connections that seemed lost between all those mathematic algorithms applied to computer music. Although if one track is truly epic on this, “The Remixes”, it’s the one by The Black Dog: nine minutes voyaging between glitched techno with kicks like diamonds, between Detroit and Sheffield and an atmospheric finish in the best nineties avant-techno tradition, which sounds as if we’re freezing oxygen and then melting it with a flamethrower. Two words that anyone who shares this code will understand: artificial intelligence. That said, let the hunt commence.

Javier Blánquez

Finally after a couple of delays this remix EP is finally available and I'm pleased to report it has been well worth the wait. The first side is 'Corrosion' which has been bitten by The Black Dog which begins with a raw crunchy beat which dissolves into a straight up 4/4 floor mover with lots of dynamic futuristic sounds morphing around a tight framework of energetic techno rhythms. The original is mutated into a clever pure techno cut complete with effected bleeps, infectious groove and total work the pasties off yer waistline dance energy. Three quarters into the tune a big spacey synth kicks in with hi-hats and then a morphing euphoric gnarley bassline whips things up into maximum tension with celestial chords. This will have a crowd roaring out with yelps of pure joy, no question. A precise and clever combination of sounds for brains and feet and will take thou effortlessly into thee bliss zone. It's not often you can flip a 12" from a Black Dog mix and drop the needle onto an Autechre mix but yes folks, this is indeed what we have here and the chaps are in ultra fine form, tastefully using the original track elements and doing a PROPER remix of 'Close Your Eyes' rather than just an AE track off the hard drive with a token sample chucked in. The score here is those comforting synth lines hovering over a majestic, tough and raw up tempo B-boy breakbeat that would have yours truly busting out my finest Welsh gymnastic techno shapes before any soundsystem that is clued up enough to drop this real gem. Autechre yet again display how dynamic they can be by abstaining on the abstract and furnishing the people with a serious party guaranteed floor rocker with maximum crunch and futurist soul. Our Finnish man and old deFocus / Kahvi Collective bod Lackluster throws in some tricky beat science for his take on '707' with melancholic synth motif, hyper itchy crunched up rhythms and all out IDM aceness the likes of which is rarely heard these days. Towards the end it gets totally slammin and will have that dancefloor sweating at your mercy. All three mixes here are super fine... A stellar cast of remixers delivering killer versions of tracks they clearly have an affinity with. Zero filler on here and thus a huge recommendation for IDM and techno heads!

The presence of electronica behemoths Autechre and The Black Dog will, for many, be the main draw for Anodyne's Remix EP. Anodyne and Lackluster, however, have been around nearly as long, both having released music since the mid-'90s. Perhaps this EP will be a vehicle to elevate them, then, because—if you'll excuse the crassness—it's pretty fucking awesome. Built as it is on three tracks from Anodyne's Corrosion LP earlier this year, which was a storming, dark journey through various rhythmic styles told by distorted drums overlaid with otherworldly ambience, the remixers each turn in similarly epic, and very different, offerings.

My personal favourite is Black Dog, although this is a more subjective opinion than with most releases, due to the variety. They offer clever techno, while Autechre, unexpectedly, go for huge synths over a simple looped drumbreak (it's the Funky Drummer, no need to trainspot here) and Lackluster turns out the glitchy electronica. While based on a tight, 4/4 punch-punch-punch-crack pattern, Dog's remix is filled with knife sharp digital rhythms which oscillate and bounce around, treading the border between electronica and techno in a supremely funky, jet-black cool manner. Epic pads command the track towards the end, emotive and cinematic.

Even those who thought that Oversteps earlier this year was more accessible than usual will be surprised by Autechre's remix. It's very straightforward. They basically slow down the original and thicken up the pads—but once you get past this initial surprise, it's a striking, classic piece. The pads themselves are monumentally thick and intense in typical baroque style, and their acute grasp of both production and atmosphere are present as ever. It's not as mind-expanding as the likes of "Fold 4, Wrap 5," for example, which slows to half speed every two bars, but it's both refreshing and interesting. For those who don't agree, Lackluster provides a shrieking, stuttering and complex anger of digital rhythms, as silken synth lines float and build into twisting sculptures. It's flowing and, despite the chaos, quite sedative, until about a minute from the end when alarms sound and it starts slamming massively, piledrivers deconstructing the terrain in an apocalypse of tectonic destruction.

Words / Daniel Petry
Published / Wed, 15 Sep 2010

Dublin-based producer Anodyne has a pedigree that goes back to the last of SKAM’s ultra-limited MASK 12″s, and indeed earlier. From what I can tell from the online samples, Anodyne’s music now is ultra-hard techno, kick drums and squelching synths. On this remix EP, however, he enlists three veterans of the ’90s electronic scene to do their work on his album.

The Black Dog turn in a typical Black Dog tune – 4/4 techno, swirling atmospherics, bleeps and bloops, and then finally, halfway through its almost 10 minutes, some pads enter and it all becomes much more warm and Blade Runner. Which is lovely. And the 2 1/2 minute ambient outro adds to the nostalgic gleam.

Autechre, however. This is a curious one. It’s almost impossible to discern any of the current-day Ae sound in this track – so much so that I went to some lengths to confirm it wasn’t wrongly tagged. Starting with big analog synth pads, and then some robotic vocals, the closest Autechre tune would probably be Basscadet. And then, one minute in… Big Chunky Breakbeat. In fact, pretty much the breakbeat – Funky Drummer – which suggests that this is a very knowing wink. It’s named after Corporation Street, the location of the infamous Manchester IRA bombing in 1996, but has none of the 1996-era Key Nell-style beat juggling either. Just one breakbeat loop and a melancholy (but big) synth pad. Bit of a drop-out section, spin and repeat. Well, it’s nice enough I guess.

Finland’s Lackluster also comes from the late-’90s IDM scene, and his skittery syncopated programming, with sharp highs and punchy lows, and breathy pads, delivers the most satisfying track to my ears. It’s as much a nostalgia-fest as the other two tracks, so my preference simply belies the sort of sound I’d like to hear, and while Ae’s mix just doesn’t sound like they tried very hard, there’s plenty of intricacy to be found in Lackluster’s entry.

Peter Hollo