Artist(s) .........:: Planetary Assault Systems
Title .............:: The Eyes Themselves
Genre .............:: Techno
Record Label ......:: Mote Evolver
Catalogue Number ..:: MOTE041D
Source ............:: WEB
Quality ...........:: 320kbps avg / 44.1KHz / Full Stereo
Duration ..........:: 00:28:20 (65.1MB)
Release Date ......:: 23-02-2015
Support ...........:: http://www.beatport.com
Tracklist .........::
1. The Eyes Themselves 5:51
2. Strange Attractor 6:32
3. Arc 7:42
4. Arc (The Bass Cut) 8:15
Release Note ......::
Since around the release of Planetary Assault Systems' Temporary Suspension LP,
P.A.S. overseer Luke Slater has made a solid case for being one of the few
techno producers who has defined the genre's past and will continue to define
its future. While he has spread his allegiances across a number of the genre's
best labels, his own Mote-Evolver label is, understandably, a source of the
most compelling work from the man: the No Exit and Future Modular EPs being two
of his more recent high-quality offerings. That trend seems set to continue
with the release of Planetary Assault Systems' The Eyes Themselves EP.
The title track is indeed a kind of treat for the mind's eye - after a
convectional rhythmic lead in, Slater gets down to business and unveils a few
layers of crisp and captivating sound design. Irregular droplets of
high-frequency sound fade in and then seem to fall around the listener like
glowing rain on the surface of a distant planet, before receding and making way
for more subtle phrases. All the while, fluctuations in the aggressiveness and
persistence of the cymbal tracks fight to wrest the listener's attention away
from this mesmerising rain, making for an intriguing push-pull effect.
Elsewhere, it is a sign of Slater's strength that a track named for a
well-known concept within dynamical systems ("Strange Attractor") doesn't come
across as a completely arbitrary guess at what such a concept might 'sound'
like. A number of lightly accented, quickly decaying micro-sounds come together
here to become more than the sum of their parts, certainly connoting dynamism
and at the very least keeping up a serviceable spaced-out groove.
Now, for those who prefer the grit and tension of urban reality to dancing
numbers or speculation on other worlds, have no fear - the closing "Arc" is
powered along by dirty filtered phrases, a faintly menacing shaker sample and
the occasional impolite release of steam from the grating beneath your feet. It
gives one the uneasy feeling of stalking in the shoes of a professional
assassin, and it wouldn't be out of place in some documentary film on the same.
Few sonic artists can go from an atmosphere of oneiric wonder to one of cold
intensity in just a few short steps, let alone doing this in a techno music
genre that has little margin for error when it comes to conjuring atmospheres.
As such, The Eyes Themselves once again demonstrates Slater's lasting
contribution to techno: maintaining its reputation as a tool for stimulating
both intellectual and physical energy, for aiding restless peregrinations of
thought and for giving the body its freedom.