- The Trekkie Trax cofounder blazes through colourful hardgroove, club music and acid on another superb installment of his Super Dance Tools series.
- Like a new word that you learn and suddenly find ubiquitous, I couldn't stop noticing Carpainter's tracks in New York clubs after I came across his work. His Super Dance Tools, in particular, are what seem to have caught the attention of the average Brooklyn DJ's wandering eye. The series feels aligned with a generation of techno devotees who like their techno best when it comes swinging—meaning fast, ravey and old-school without succumbing to pastiche. His Trekkie Trax label has become a nexus for Tokyo-based producers of all creeds. Outside of its regional focus, it's difficult to parse a common thread through the label's wildly diverse catalog, with dense, heady bass coming out in the same breath as cheesy, '10s era dubstep. Carpainter's own records are easily the label's best and most straightforward techno material.
Super Dance Tools Vol. 3 is as explosive as any of Carpainter's former releases, and the energy here is framed by en vogue hardgroove percussion. Anyone paying attention to the electronic music scene will know that the shuffling mid-'90s techno sound clearly has global appeal, with Mexico's Regal86 and Greece's ANNĒ pushing the Ben Sims-coined sound forward. Carpainter's interpretation of hard groove crosses tracks like "Scrub One,""Pointed," and "Unpack." What sets his work apart from the new generation of hardgroove producers is the lurid, almost cartoonish sheen he adds to everything, which probably comes from his years making garage and post-dubstep.
The vibrancy of his work mirrors the adventurous feel of the Japanese video game series MOTHER, which he takes his artist name from. This quality is pronounced on tracks that teeter the borders of techno and club music. On "Rocky Voice," a faraway shout jumps above a distorted acid synth that sounds like it could belong in the soundtrack for a racing video game. More fun abounds on the opening "Central-A," where plasticky synth arpeggios do the loop-the-loop and "Unpack," where what sounds like a metal utensil clattering onto a tiled floor echoes endlessly over hand drums.
Carpainter is known for turning odd sounds into powerful dance cuts—it's what made "Serious Scratch," where distorted scratching sounds formed an irresistible rhythm, so compelling. He also enjoys tinkering around with straightforward melodies. "Big Action"'s Discovery-era Daft Punk synths suggest a love for disco and "Paprika," with its rubber band synths and clown horn melody, recall the mid-'90s house bounce of Paul Johnson and DJ Juanito. The harder tracks on Super Dance Tools Vol. 3 still show a remarkable sense of groove. The bass on "Gordon" conjures images of a demolition site, but crispy claps and pendulating loops in the high-end give the track a swing similar to the rhythm one catches when a train passes by. It sounds like what I imagine the Club Kids subway parties devolved into in the '80s.
Tracklist01. Central-A
02. Big Action
03. Unpack
04. Kernel Panic
05. Paprika
06. Scrub One
07. Rocky Voice
08. Gordon
09. Scrub Two
10. Pointed