- Gesloten Cirkel has always made great records. Submit X, an album of fearless acid techno issued on Murder Capital in April last year, followed two exceptional EPs in 2009 and 2011. So to say that M-011 and M-012 are killer records by someone who can't stop making them won't be news to most. But what's surprising about these six tracks is that they may reach the peak of Gesloten Cirkel's powers.
Closing M-011, "Never" is a fine example of this. The 14-minute stretch of techno improbably matches scruffy Hague acid with the feel of glassy morning dew. On a couple occasions, ice-cold synths leaven the track's mucky 303 march and skiffing hi-hats in a way that seems to jumpstart the track. By comparison, "Where's Your Cash," a long digital exclusive on Submit X, ploughed on more stubbornly.
With an intoxicated spoken word that may refer to Lil' Louis, "The Real Melbourne House" pairs a sturdy Chicago house chassis with Zomby-esque bleeps and a buzzing synth loop. It's dramatic and utterly silly all at once, and the warehouse-ready acid line that jumps in only accentuates the feeling. In moments like these, Gesloten Cirkel demonstrates a rare musical dexterity—techno might as well be his first language, so peppering in little jokes sounds wholly natural.
From the machine doodles on "Stakan Acid" to the big metal riffs on M-012 opener "Chasing Away The Night" (another callback to Submit X), Gesloten Cirkel takes typically serious sounds and arranges them into dense, colourful patterns. A nonsense vocal on "Perron," looped tight around a bass drum, is devastating in both its economy and catchiness. You could say the same for most of M-012, especially "Chasing Away The Night," a remix of Jacob Korn & Sneaker's "Heteronomous." The original's rich, silky synths are greased up and ground down by Gesloten Cirkel's acid-powered cogs and pistons. And just when you think it's done, a crossfader-cut vocal skips over the mix to give it another shot in the arm. It's hard to understand what's being said, but it makes its point instantly.
TracklistM-011
A1 The Real Melbourne House
A2 Acid Stakan
B1 Never
M-012
A1 Chasing Away The Night
B1 Charming
B2 Perron