JTC - Beats In Space

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  • Tadd Mullinix, AKA cult beatsmith Dabrye, returns to the JTC alias, his vehicle for wide-ranging techno experiments, with a single for young pan-European imprint Shaddock. If you need proof of the chameleonic nature of the JTC project, just look to this year's releases: "The Controller," a discordant, frenetic techno banger on Minimal Rome, compared with the hazier, more cosmically-inclined outings to be found on the appropriately titled Beats in Space. Originally produced for Mullinix's appearance on Tim Sweeney's New York-based radio show of the same name, the title track is actually the least compelling thing here: a propulsive but sterile drum machine workout whose B-movie synth melodics and vocal snippets don't quite manage to infuse the thing with character. Elsewhere Mullinix takes things weirder, with intoxicating results. "The First Night Cycle" is a muzzy, after-dark affair, its jacking underpinnings struggling to punch through the smoky gauze of pads and Ellis Monk's clouded, whispered interjections. An abrupt change of tone at the midpoint imbues the thing with a heavy-lidded, meandering euphoria—perfect for the doped confusion of the comedown. "Love Canopy and Vessels" is punchier and less of a head-turner, but still coasts along in pleasingly nocturnal fashion, its digi-xylophone figures dancing over pungent pads and distant melodies. Madteo, meanwhile, captures the mood perfectly and runs with it in his remix of the title track, fragmenting and looping the atmospherics into foggy oblivion over soft, scattergun percussion.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Beats in Space A2 Beats in Space (Madteo Remix) B1 The First Night Cycle feat. Ellis Monk B2 Love Canopy and Vessels
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