The Inertials - Cristian Vogel (Shitkatapult)

When an artist's been around for a long time they're easy to ignore because you may think time and technology has rendered them redundant, or that having heard much of their material you know what the latest will sound like. Well, in the case of Cristian Vogel's latest, you should put any such ideas aside. Even though he's regarded as something of an experimentalist in Techno, this work might surprise a few casual listeners.

Vogel's high end production values are reminiscent of those employed by Monolake, and like Robert Henke, his fine-tuning doesn't detract from rhythmic prowess or low-end theoretical weight, of which there's plenty on The Inertials.

Thankfully, there's more than modern motoring mechanics at work, although those are good enough to warrant a listen, cruising the perimeters of post-dubstep tech-deconstruction as they do. The first three tracks stand out in this respect, paced at mid-tempo, but with great use of depth and space.

'Today's Standard Form' may not give Michael Nyman much to worry about in the modern composition stakes, but at least it's simple melodic piano progression proves that Vogel's not afraid to step outside the mechanised mainframe. 'Spectral Transgression' also offers a contrast to the precision-tooled bassics by way of taking a Steve Reich-inspired route into reductionist techno territory.

This is a clean, crisp, at times powerful piece of work, with plenty of well-placed components to keep keen listeners interested.

The Inertials - Cristian Vogel (Remix) 

Vogel’s been around so long that even a techno ignoramus like me has heard of him – and so it would have been easy to pass this over, and a mistake to do so, because it’s a damned good album. It’s got low-end weight that booms into your ear before shuddering through your gullet, down your spine and echoing ‘round your gut, for starters. It’s got space and depth, especially in the first three tracks, which are the main reason for me writing this, to be honest. Just another Techno album, no matter how well produced, is of little interest to me.  But here stalks a beast born of post-dubstep Techno deconstruction, akin to that created by Robert Henke; precision-tooled, made by robots, but injected with the essence of slow-cooked electro funk extracted from the backside of Mad Mike. And that’s not an easy process. Vogel had to travel to Detroit, find him, pin him down and get the needle in...

'Spectral Transgression' nods to Steve Reich, the way a few techno producers have done down the years, and why not? Reich had the rhythmic repetition thing in hand when they weren’t even twinkles in their Daddy’s eyes. And it’s not a bad effort either, although it does evolve into reductionist techno territory, and I’d rather it didn’t. I could be wrong, but I suspect Vogel doesn’t care what I think of it...

A complete change of mood comes from 'Today's Standard Form', a simple melodic progression on piano, which might make him a crazy experimentalist in the Techno area, or simply someone who likes to try something a little different. It’s no big deal as a piece of music, but does provide a pleasant detour...

I haven’t listened  through ‘phones yet because I’ve put the Wharfdales to work, but I’m guessing it’ll offer plenty of wholesome whizzy components when played straight into the ol’ canals....