- The Roland MKS-50 is a colder, harsher sounding rack mount version of the Alpha Juno synthesiser, which was famous for bringing the Hoover sound to dance music. In spite of its title, Adapta's latest record for Frustrated Funk isn't exactly a Mentasm workout, though you'll find its deranged fingerprints on the A2 and B2. Nor is it the type of straightforward and dependable electro record we've come to expect from the Dutch label. But it does include some solid DJ tracks; almost without fail, people have requested IDs for MKS-50 Tracks every time I've put it on. The four-tracker centres on Frustrated Funk's classic electro sound design, but some 4/4 kicks and simple hi-hat patterns make it potentially appealing to a larger audience.
The A1 has the best bassline I've heard in recent years: it's slippery and staccato at the same time, and sounds like it's diving forward with every repetition. It starts to break into strange squelches, like the MKS-50 took a bite out of its own circuitry, but the simple drums keep things light and brisk. The A2 features a wandering synth that absentmindedly picks notes from a chromatic scale like curios in a gift shop, while the B1 is the most syncopated and gritty offering here. Given their quirks, those two tracks are the most demanding of the lot, but that doesn't make them any less engaging. The B2 has an almost minimal-esque tautness to the drum production, though any sign of classy restraint is quashed when an opening filter reveals the fat, sinister Hoover bassline. There are pleasingly queasy details zapping all around MKS-50 Tracks—if they freak out less adventurous selectors, even the most straight-laced DJs could get behind the A1.
TracklistA1 MKS-50_01
A2 MKS-50_02
B1 MKS-50_03
B2 MKS-50_04