- So far Relaxer is a mystery project. His or her self-titled, self-released debut gives little to latch onto but the music—luckily, it's excellent. The EP drifts around the edges of labels like Workshop and Latency, using sparse sound design to create hazy and deep atmospheres. Which isn't to say the music is soothing: Relaxer wrings out a slimy, nearly sinister kind of club energy with smeared and unusual synth patterns. These four tracks, diverse and never dull, chase deeper and deeper emotional peaks in the night.
The A-side contains two drowsy, narcotic soaks. "Get Back To Work" is cold with whispers, and "You Know How It Is," a massive slow-jack, whittles down its pressurized thuds à la Kassem Mosse. In the latter outro, a break of glimmering keys, strung across Relaxer's sluggish rhythms, is a fine moment of unconventional house.
What follows is far from it. Ramped up to 137 BPM, "Recoil" is peak techno at its most sublime—frantic, tumbling, and a shoo-in for harsh strobes. But once we've been knocked senseless, Relaxer makes amends. The rippling and ascending synths of "Small Pleasures" swell with gorgeous emotion. As with many special records, it's a finale that you'll never want to end.
TracklistA1 Get Back To Work
A2 You Know How It Is
B1 Recoil
B2 Small Pleasures