- Arriving after a low-key three-year spell, Exercise One's latest release seems like a hesitant reintroduction. "502 Last Sequence," the only new original production on Exone 23, is accompanied by a beefed-up version of "Timetrap," which first appeared on a 2011 Wagon Repair compilation, and a Locked Groove remix of that track. The duo needn't have been so cautious—the arpeggiated stew of "502 Last Sequence" is churned with gusto by Ingo Gansera and Marco Freivogel, who sound like they're having fun. The spontaneous bursts of noise—boiling modular oscillations, chirping high frequencies—can sometimes feel over-exuberant, but it's hard to fault the spirit in which they were seemingly made.
Gansera and Freivogel's music has drifted away from the minimalism of early EPs like Kitchentools and 12 Years—this is evident on "502 Last Sequence" and "Timetrap," an asset for one and a liability for the other. By fortifying "Timetrap"'s drums and tuning its soft bells into a sonar pulse, this "2016" revamp sacrifices the original's spaciousness and noirish atmosphere. Whatever its faults, "Timetrap (2016)" has enough urgency to get it over the line. Indefensibly repetitive, Locked Groove's remix is much less moving. The original synth melody, a bundle of twitching muscle fibres, is excessively sedated by reverb. As the version cycles endlessly through the same six-note melody, "Timetrap"'s title takes on an unfortunate insinuation.
TracklistA1 Timetrap (2016)
A2 502 Last Sequence
B1 Timetrap (Locked Groove Remix)