- Whilst he isn't necessarily talked about as much as some of his Detroit contemporaries, Anthony Shakir has been present on the Detroit techno scene since the first wave, working in A&R and management for Metroplex and appearing on 1988's Techno: The New Dance Sound Of Detroit compilation. His consistently reliable Frictional Recordings imprint made sure a little bit of the limelight shone back on him during its period of operation, but it's been dormant since 2003, and it's been a good three years since Shakir has released a solo production. The wait for new material is now finally over with this release on Italy's Morphine Records, who have already made quite a name for themselves amongst techno fans looking for records with an old-school flavour to them. After starting off with a mostly Italian roster, their previous release featured three raw acid tracks from Chicago's Jamal Moss (AKA Hieroglyphic Being), and now it's the turn of Shake to represent Detroit.
First off, you can forget about all those tracks of late that have looked to the classic melodic Detroit techno sounds for either inspiration or just uninspired plagiarism—Shake's never been about complying to any rulebook anyway, even during his early years behind the production desk. The EP's opener, "Levitate," is a slice of wild electro that's devoid of any human emotion whatsoever, but don't let that put you off. Its robotic funk and alien sound manipulations combine to create a devastatingly jacking rhythm track that works fine when played on its own, but should cause some serious dancefloor damage when put in the hands of the right DJ.
"Indagoo" is a turn into minimal house territory, but it has a wonkiness that is unmistakably the work of Shakir. Propelled by an ultra-funky double bass riff, it chugs along at a casual 122 BPM whilst snippets of melody appear and reappear, accentuated by some dynamically manipulated bleeps and blips. It's all too apparent that this is a man who takes a lot of care with the sounds that he uses, not settling for second best and making each element as crucial and engaging as the last.
122 too slow for you? "Space Probes" might be the track for you. Even at a frenetic pace of 148, its intermittent filtered hi-hats and subdued two-note synth wail never sound too busy, while its use of distorted bass drums and breathtaking structural manipulation make sure that it captivates you throughout its entire (admittedly short) duration. While purist techno heads may stray away from this cut due to its sheer speed, it's definitely something that I can see finding its way into sets of more adventurous dubstep DJs looking to shake up the crowd—no pun intended.
The EP finishes with a more straight-up techno effort, and its dance floor conventionality will most probably ensure that it gets played out more than the other tracks. A crunching noise ebbs and flows in the mix, providing the dark counterpoint for the bright punctuary percussion that lifts the track up a gear once it emerges. After riding along solely on its rhythm for a few minutes, Shake strips the drums back and weaves together multiple synth lines to create an eerie atmosphere before dropping the kick back in and reintroducing the original elements. It all sounds pretty simple, but yet again it's both the actual sounds and Shakir's meticulous attention to detail that elevate it firmly above the competition. When Shake delivered the tracks to Morphine upon their completion, he was apparently quoted as saying, "Let's give the people what they need." At a time when substandard electronic music is being churned out at an alarming rate, it's difficult to disagree.
TracklistA1 Levitate
A2 Indagoo
B1 Space Probes
B2 It Erased Me