- The Final Theory is the first EP in a trilogy promising to explore "modern-day trance," which could represent an unplanted flag when you consider the genre's re-emergence in splintered forms across electronic music. The opening notes of DJ Metatron's "U'll Be The King Of The Stars" call back to Jam & Spoon's "Stella," but the Giegling artist's reserved style has little to do with the way artists like Rustie and Evian Christ have revisited trance's halogen synths in more dramatic ways. On Artefakt's latest 12-inch, Field's mission statement mutes the primary colours of trance into pastel shades, submerging the melodies beneath a vast analogue goo.
In evoking oceans (or in the case of their last EP, The Fifth Planet, outer space), Artefakt's techno mimics elegant motion, even though the music has a runnier internal rhythm. Despite the squirming acid lines of "The Final Theory," the feeling is one of serenity, like watching goldfish dart around in a large tank. Any sense of euphoria on The Final Theory is restrained and neatly groomed, and maybe a little too tasteful to be affecting. Early '90s trance records from labels like Harthouse were, according to Simon Reynolds in Energy Flash, "cousins of armchair techno," which suggests that this sound, with its rail-straight drums, was a funk vacuum. The Final Theory is neither that nor the super-emotive material you would have come across at certain British super clubs in the late '90s. Instead, it occupies a middleground rooted in modern house and techno.
Tracklist01. The Final Theory
02. Moving Horizon
03. Solaris