- Now that Mobilee has its house offshoot, it seems the parent label is heading off in the opposite direction with some of its hardest techno to date. It’s hard to see something like ‘Rancho Relaxo’ coming out alongside this latest 12” from Exercise One, which is darkly powerful 4/4 techno that feels more Berghain than Panoramabar.
Both sides have the powerful deep kicks and jacking hi hat patterns of classic techno, but true to the ’07 style there is also thick enveloping bass and artfully sparse use of melody.
Of the two, ‘Dark Star’ is more in the classic Mobilee mold with snappy needle-sharp hisses and tinny rattles giving way to evil buzzing synths and creepy vocal samples. It’s easy to see why this is in many DJs charts for this month as it is perfect for peaktime in harder clubs.
On the other side ‘Melting’ is a little more subdued and slightly more old-fashioned sounding with thicker bass and more straightforward drum patterns – I can see Adam Beyer playing this before he hits his stride and really gets brutal.
Overall this seems a strong direction for Mobilee to evolve in as its previous syncopated minimal style is clearly out of favour right now, and this is yet another well-crafted and solid release from the very reliable Exercise One.
TracklistA Dark Star
B Melting