Waveform Transmissions Vol. 3

ハードなフロア・キラーの名作ぞろい！94年に発表された本シリーズのアルバム第3弾。第1弾に続き、早い、激しい、深い、フロアでついて行くのは半端じゃできません。ハード・ミニマルというラベルを貼られたサウンドながら独自の路線まっしぐら！M1「Extremist」のタイトルどうり、BPMがトランス並みに速い。しかしながら、彼のルーツはファンク、ソウル、ディスコということもあり、やはりブラックを感じさせるグルーヴが素晴らしい。一度この波に飲み込まれると、なかなか抜け出せません。当時のダンス中毒者がスピーカーの前で狂喜乱舞する姿が頭に浮かびます。

Though released only two years apart, in 1992 and 1994, Jeff Mills' two Waveform Transmission albums for Tresor differ slightly from one another. The first volume was relentlessly hard, powered by punishing beats and breakneck tempos. In many ways, it resembled the type of hard techno Mills had produced as part of Underground Resistance in the early '90s. This second volume features eight tracks that are similarly powered by punishing beats and breakneck tempos, but they aren't quite as relenting. The beats tend to be polarized, offsetting a pounding 909 kick foundation with rattling snares and looping bleeps, and the tempos tend to fluctuate, dropping out every now and then for quick buildups and releases. The album opens with "The Extremist," which indeed lives up to its billing, but from there Mills offers a diverse array of tracks. Next up is "Solid Sleep," a stomping, midtempo -- relatively midtempo, that is -- track that feels like a release after "The Extremist." "Life Cycle" and "Workers" alternate between calm sections and explosive ones, and the same goes for "Wrath of the Punisher," which is built around a charging, multi-layered rhythm and a foreboding riff of incredibly unsettling synth stabs. By the time you reach the penultimate track, the serene "Condor to Mallorca," its tranquil opening two minutes feel incredibly relieving, as does the remainder of the track, as it develops into an old-school-sounding acid track. "Basic Human Design" then caps off the album, suitably perhaps, with dizzying, whirlwind ferocity. These eight tracks signaled Mills' transition from the straightforward hard techno he had produced in the early '90s to the more diversified style he would pursue throughout the remainder of the decade. In many ways these tracks prefigure Mills' Axis releases, which employed the same sound palette. As such, Waveform Transmission, Vol. 3 stands out in Mills' canon. It's not necessarily a masterpiece, but it was his most accomplished release to date, even if his later accomplishments perhaps make it seem a bit one-dimensional. ~ Jason Birchmeier|

Though released only two years apart, in 1992 and 1994, Jeff Mills' two Waveform Transmission albums for Tresor differ slightly from one another. The first volume was relentlessly hard, powered by punishing beats and breakneck tempos. In many ways, it resembled the type of hard techno Mills had produced as part of Underground Resistance in the early '90s. This second volume features eight tracks that are similarly powered by punishing beats and breakneck tempos, but they aren't quite as relenting. The beats tend to be polarized, offsetting a pounding 909 kick foundation with rattling snares and looping bleeps, and the tempos tend to fluctuate, dropping out every now and then for quick buildups and releases. The album opens with "The Extremist," which indeed lives up to its billing, but from there Mills offers a diverse array of tracks. Next up is "Solid Sleep," a stomping, midtempo -- relatively midtempo, that is -- track that feels like a release after "The Extremist." "Life Cycle" and "Workers" alternate between calm sections and explosive ones, and the same goes for "Wrath of the Punisher," which is built around a charging, multi-layered rhythm and a foreboding riff of incredibly unsettling synth stabs. By the time you reach the penultimate track, the serene "Condor to Mallorca," its tranquil opening two minutes feel incredibly relieving, as does the remainder of the track, as it develops into an old-school-sounding acid track. "Basic Human Design" then caps off the album, suitably perhaps, with dizzying, whirlwind ferocity. These eight tracks signaled Mills' transition from the straightforward hard techno he had produced in the early '90s to the more diversified style he would pursue throughout the remainder of the decade. In many ways these tracks prefigure Mills' Axis releases, which employed the same sound palette. As such, Waveform Transmission, Vol. 3 stands out in Mills' canon. It's not necessarily a masterpiece, but it was his most accomplished release to date, even if his later accomplishments perhaps make it seem a bit one-dimensional. ~ Jason Birchmeier