Dekmantel Podcast 334 - Bambounou by dekmantel

It's not often an artist serves up a debut album as accomplished and complete as @bambounou's XXX in 2012. His ambient synths and techno rhythms were perfectly formed right from the off. Impressively, the Pairs-based artist has still managed to evolve and explore plenty of new ground in the years since, not least in March with the first release on his new label Bambe. It found the straight-up, muscular grooves of his early work making way for a more restrained and minimal sound, where heady repetition and hypnotic pads seem to bend space and time.

It's fair to say that all aspects of the Bambounou sound past and present make up this week's mix. It kicks off in high gear, like a caged animal finally let free into the wild. The synths are nasty and twisted, the hammering rhythms never let up and cacophonous percussion keeps the intensity levels high. The frenetic pace remains throughout but there are occasional moments to catch your breath as tracks are stripped back to their bare bones. Ultimately, though, this is a peak time mix from a true techno futurist.