- Charles Noel's 21/22 Corporation label was based in Columbus, Ohio. It's associated with the Midwest techno tradition, but during its nine-year run, between 1994 and 2003, it also released electro and drum & bass. Noel often made music with Todd Sines and Titonton Duvanté. This group of producers, and 21/22 Corporation in particular, have experienced a surge of interest in recent years. (Enough to inflate secondhand prices and usher in a spate of reissues, at least.) As Archetype, Noel released three records in a series titled Glyph, in 2002, before his output tapered off. The new Pittsburgh-based label is / was, which listed some original copies for sale through its Bandcamp, has released 03. It was supposed to come out in 2002.
Noel's Archetype alias covers loopy techno, but it's more engaging and nuanced than that term might imply. Earthy drum sounds, syncopated rhythms and febrile bleeps create almost tribal atmospheres. Elements overlap and merge, generating complex textures that you can hear especially well on 03's A1. Archetype was also an outlet for broken-beat curveballs, and 03 gets twisted. The B1 is particularly strange. Its half-stepping drums and slinky subs have a retro-futuristic minimalism that sounds like early Hessle Audio, but the atonal bleeps are pure '90s electro. The B2 is tripping techno stoned into stumbling slow motion, while the A2 is a spartan broken beat roller. Both are loopy and utilitarian, but this is what makes them so effective.
TracklistA1 Untitled 1
A2 Untitled 2
B1 Untitled 3
B2 Untitled 4