- Archivist is a pretty mundane name for a dance music producer, but the music Alex Markey makes is anything but. A prominent member of the secondnature crew, a young group of producers and DJs from Seattle and Tacoma who are reinvigorating the Washington region's techno scene, Markey embodies their ethos. Imagine the mystical drama of Northern Electronics mixed with the lush atmospherics of Sandwell District and a dose of quality songwriting—that was the vibe on Markey's excellent Pathfinder EP from earlier this year. Now, he's working with Seattle's MOTOR label, another key player in the city's techno scene.
MOTOR boss Samuel Melancon has said he wants his label's techno to be "bright, accessible and fun." Markey does just that on Force Reduction, bookending the EP with two boisterous tracks. "Astoria" is roomy, built on a broken beat with bright, glossy arpeggios. The more it chugs along, especially once the sputtering bassline gets in there, the more it sounds inspired by some old prog track—and it's all the better for it. The title cut is a Function-style banger with bright bell sounds, but there's also a world of atmospheric detail to take in.
Markey gets darker in the midsection. "That Sinking Feeling" is deep and trippy techno, and though it's well-built, its bass-heavy growl and burping synths feel humdrum next to the more distinctive tracks. "170," on the other hand, is almost kitschy. Like "Astoria," it's got a mischievous bassline, hand percussion and a robotic sample that deadpans "170 decibels" over and over. It's a little goofy, but it sticks to MOTOR's idea of unpretentious techno.
Tracklist01. Astoria
02. That Sinking Feeling
03. 170
04. Force Reduction