A-Side
12", 33 ⅓ RPM
Mastered By CGB at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.

"If you stick around long enough, you'll eventually see something new, and Horizontal Ground is certainly unusual, if not unique. A sub-label set up by Frozen Border, itself an anonymous, hand-stamped techno label—and part of a growing group of similarly inclined imprints, including Wax, Equalized, Ancient Methods and Seldom Felt—Horizontal Ground's remit is to release music by producers Frozen Border admire. (There are no prizes for guessing that the identity of the producers behind the Horizontal releases will not be revealed, that the presentation will be on anonymous, hand-stamped vinyl and that the music is of a purist techno persuasion.)

If the people behind this burgeoning empire of facelessness are trying to get people to focus on the music, they've succeeded. The A-side is based on heavy looped drums, like Ben Klock's dense, housey rhythms only more pacey, while a succession of yelping analogue riffs make a nod to the re-interpretation of Chicago ghetto techno via Landstrumm's noisenik back catalogue. The flip side is even trackier, with our mystery man (or woman) deploying razor sharp hi-hats that cut like cheese wire through dark, industrial riffs, shuffling drums and a prowling bassline.

So yet another anonymous techno project launches. However, the message remains the same; you don't need a wacky haircut or to act as a pimp for a new technology company to make great techno music."

words: Richard Brophy
rating : 4/5
resident advisor 18 Aug 2009