Using just the acronym of his real and artist name, Matthias Schildger is back in top form on his and brother Christian’s Mainrecords imprint, gifting us the “Radiation Dance‘” EP. On the vinyl version, it’s four tracks from Matt and one from both brothers as C.S.M.S., plus on the digital release there is the bonus cut of “SomewhereInSpace” from Matt, of which more will be written later.
For now though, let’s concentrate on “CH.Dance”, the opener on the release. From the opening pulses of the bassline, this has echoes of Vangelis and Moroder put through a Teutonic audio blender; the pace is kept steady, the synths are chiming and metallic, the set-back vocal samples add atmosphere to what is – and this is meant in the most positive way – a lost track from the Blade Runner soundtrack. As authentically 80s electronic as could be possible, without actually being made in that decade, this glistens with retro-futuristic charm.
The energy gets a clubby boost on the A2 as the title track gets moving along; crisp beats are married to an arpeggiated bassline, slight bleeps and subtle FX sounds wrapping themselves around the main structure of the track to give some warmth to proceedings. As with the opening track, there are quietly placed spoken vocal parts, never firing from the speakers, but just adding a layer of sound to complement the main action. Memories of Axe Corner’s ‘Tortuga’ or C-Concept’s ‘Why Naked?’ sprang to mind, with the track’s pulsing early 90s electronic feel, which is no bad thing at all.
The B-side greets us with “Divine Divider”, essentially a track built around punchy drums with a gorgeous crunchy clap sound, a mid-range staccato bassline and the use of FX through the track, adding movement to sections as it glides along. Possibly produced as a sort-of linking type track for being ‘in the mix’, this doesn’t stray from the main sounds throughout, only the FX parts altering the sounds here and there, but this is a fine mid-mix tool for DJs for sure.
Second on this side of 12″ is “Rzwodzwo’s Brain”, an extremely quirky electronic jam, with off-kilter beeps and bleeps, swirling radio-interference style FX noises and metallic hits in the percussion, all sat atop a wonderfully woozy bassline, adding some welcome warmth, with all the bleeping and fuzzy high-end sounds whirling around the top. A shiny pad also comes into play at the halfway point, which also adds another layer of joy. A superbly intricate, offbeat and slightly mad, but gorgeous, club track is on offer here, just excellent.
For the final track on the wax, Matt is joined by brother Christian, for their “Datapoppers” track, in the C.S.M.S. guise. A tough but sparse machine funk drum pattern leads into pulsating synth hits and dubby stabs, cowbell hits added for some old-school flavour, with a bassline which is fuzzy around the edges and sounds great as a result. Keeping in theme with Matt’s solo outings on the vinyl, this also has echoes of early 90s European house, the likes of which Frank De Wulf would have been proud. Everything is placed perfectly, down to the panned zaps and slight perc rattles – a fantastic end to a wonderfully produced 12″.
But that’s not all! For those of you who like their music in the form of zeros and ones, as opposed to solid slabs of wax, you get the bonus of Matt’s “SomewhereInSpace”, as mentioned earlier. It’s a superb addition to the tracks on the 12″ too, a slightly acidic bassline rolling and flowing under some sparking synths, tough drums and heady pads. The focus overall here though is the bassline, which mutates as the track works its way into your brain, the opening and closing of the filters creating a huge amount of variation on that one sound throughout the track. An excellent bonus to add to the brilliant vinyl. Quality all the way!
Words by Al Bradley
Torture the Artist 