Utility

Prior to 2018, Sam Barker was known for making intricately designed, functional techno as one half of Barker & Baumecker, as well as co-founding Leisure System, the event series and label which expanded the scope of Berghain, booking more experimental acts than the purist techno commonly associated with the Berlin superclub. With his 2018 solo EP Debiasing, Barker introduced a cascading form of techno that reaches towards the euphoria of trance without falling back on any of its cliched elements -- most outstandingly, doing so without the usage of kick drums. The release was hailed as a fresh evolution of techno, and built up anticipation for a full-length. Utility expands on the unique sound of Debiasing, additionally pushing it in a few other directions. Many of the albums pieces consist of lapping textural waves that glide over a ticking rhythmic frame, with too much of a propulsive force to seem like theyre staying in one place but no obvious sense of progression. Still, theres something so spirited about the tracks that it feels like theyre transporting you somewhere. Perhaps this is the sound of techno having an out-of-body experience, hovering a few yards above the dancefloor. The album swings between light and dark moods, dipping into haunting dub-techno territory with Gradients of Bliss before hinging back towards neo-trance with Hedonic Treadmill. Models of Wellbeing is ecstatic and shimmering, sounding like it could burst at any minute yet retaining a calm demeanor. Utility pushes further, beginning with a sunny arpeggio sequence in the vein of Manuel Gottschings E2-E4 before a hint of EQd drumnbass breakbeats flicker in. The trip ends on a surprisingly sullen note with Die-Hards of the Darwinian Order, a clanky nine-minute crawl evoking Boards of Canada at their most bummed out. Barkers work expands the boundaries of techno, breaking free of the grid and touching on some of the most emotionally resonant aspects of the genre, and its not hard to imagine a new school of electronic musicians taking cues from Utility in the future. ~ Paul Simpson

聖地ベルリンでレフトフィールドなエレクトロニック・ミュージックを発表するレジャー ・システム主宰のバーカーが、ついにテクノの総本山オストグート・トンから初のアルバムをリリース。もちろんテクノに型というものはないけれど、キック・ドラムがほぼなく4つ打ちでもない今作からは、自身のレーベルでの作品も含めて彼がいかに前衛的な音楽を追い求めてきたかがわかる。その精神も含め、本当の意味で最高のテクノだ。
bounce (C)長谷川義和