- Dynamic broken techno.
- Serbia's Lag is one of the most dynamic producers in the world of deep, dark techno. Once a regular on Bas Mooy's best-in-class Mord label, now he appears on long-running UK outfit Don't with an EP that embraces that country's history of stepping, broken techno with four of the best tracks he's ever put out.
Take "Svinja"—the tightly-coiled, almost stiff beat is straight out of the early Downwards playbook, while clipped vocal yells add an Oliver Ho-esque edge. But let's not just compare Lag to other producers. It's the big-room touch on "Svinja," a huge, reverb-drenched orchestral stab, that really hits it home, transforming it from an insular techno freak-out to something almost flamboyant.
"Znoj" has more of those big theatrical sounds, this time welded to a kick-snare pattern that feels like a one-two punch with every bar, while "Ko Si Danas" dives head first into fantastic breakdowns led by drum fills. But it's "Frka Frka" that I keep coming back to, a jittery broken beat stunner with an ascending progression that only gets more maniacal as the track builds, the kind of club bomb you'd have to deploy carefully. At just the right moment, it could send a crowd into a whole other dimension. This is a powerful 12-inch in the right hands. Use it for good.
Tracklist01. Svinja
02. Znoj
03. Frka Frka
04. Ko Si Danas