Galaxian - Repent - Transient Force - Album Review

The sounds of industrial machines no longer controlled by their operators, the sound of processes, electronix and bolts coming lose at the seams. The sounds of galactic funk, really. This is the sound of the brand new album 'Repent' from Glasgow producer Galaxian. I've reviewed a few of his previous releases, and have been following this producer since I first discovered his music for one of the electro showcase mixes for the Vocode project. You can tell that as a producer, he's taking in influences from a wide variety of musical styles, and it shows. This is most definitely not electro by the numbers, but rather an evolution of the sound, and that's something that really gets me excited as a long time electro head. Don't get me wrong, I love the classic sounds of electro funk, the Rother vibes of the 90s, the Drexciya and Dopplereffekt school of electro... but for the genre to thrive, it need's more producers like this. I hate to do comparisons, but many of these tracks wouldn't be out of place on one of those Underworld albums - you know the style... complex layers of acid bits, scattered drums that somehow sound cohesive, warm synth tone washes and vocal snippet samples. Where Galaxian really shines as a producer is the way he manages to weave these various synths, samples, and dense layers of drums. Take for example 'If You Want' - if you were to start off on this track, you've got a fairly standard electro number, and to be honest, lot's of people would ride that groove, vary up the hats a bit and maybe filter freq the bassline, call it a day. Galaxian keeps this building and building, introducing element upon element, until the track you're listening to has really taken a hold, a funk groover that sounds nothing like the beginnings of the track. This style of producing reminds me in a strange sort of way of listening to old funk bands, session players who could lock a groove down tight - playing off of each other, building and building till the energy almost breaks out of the track. That is the sound of 'Repent'. This is one of those rare albums that would be at home equally for headphone phreakz getting blunted at the crib, as well as for adventurous DJs with a willing crowd. I've been really impressed with the variety being released on Transient Force as of late. Clearly a label not afraid to take some chances, and when given artistic freedom, producers shine; this is the case with Galaxian's latest effort. If you dig music in the vein of Underworld, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher with an electro vibe, I have an album for you I'd like to recommend. 'Repent' is out now on Transient Force, and available to purchase directly from the label. Galaxian - Repent album sampler [TRANSIENT FORCE TF032] by Galaxian Related: Galaxian 'End of Forever' album review City of Bass: blogging daily about the electro music scene. Follow along via twitter or the RSS feed