- Few labels fit the term "modern techno" better than Svreca's Semantica. With over 100 consistently strong releases to date, the label has honed an aesthetic that's rooted in techno but open to the worlds of IDM, electro and beyond.
Set to celebrate their tenth anniversary with an absurd squadron of talent across ten compilation releases, Semantica gets right to business on 10.I. Donato Dozzy is up first and offers some deep-jungle maneuvers on "Rotary 3." It's one of his more tool-ish efforts, with back-and-forth bass, spiny drum loops and oscillating bleeps and growls all churned slowly in and out of sync with each other. Spacey and ominous, Mod21's "The Smell Of Sand" unspools moonlit arpeggios over a spare-but-slyly-swung rhythm.
Semantica played a key role in presenting the two B-side artists to wider audiences. Stanislav Tolkachev, who's released three stunning solo EPs through the label, conjures another mind-bending merry-go-round in "Stockholm Syndrome." A crafty rhythm backed with crystalline synths twisting to reveal fretful sub-melodies, it'll leave dance floors in a daze. Last is Skirt's fascinating ambient track, "Angracia," her most ambitious non-techno production. It trips through tense distortion and eerie, evocative melodies that are more carefully considered than anything she's done before. 10.I is a great beginning to what should be a fantastic run of anniversary releases for Semantica.
TracklistA1 Donato Dozzy - Rotary 3
A2 Mod21 - The Smell Of Sand
B1 Stanislav Tolkachev - Stockholm Syndrome
B2 Skirt - Angracia