- Darkroom Dubs are a bit hit and miss for me. That's not so much a criticism as a comment on their modus operandi: Releases are scattered in different directions stylistically. This one reaches back and brings up classics from two acid techno and rave characters from the '90s, HMC being a proponent of the early Australian scene and De Wulf with his successful B-Sides series.
"Life Support Systems" is well-formed and simple: two lines repeat the same note, with a weird beeping adding a dissonant tone that you're not quite sure you can hear. It's the kind of basic, loopy rave that non-dance music enthusiasts might look at you in a funny way for listening to, but its straightforwardness is really more of a distillation. "People In Motion" sounds less like the archetype of what was around at that time. Its hurrying analogue and galloping drum splashes are overlaid by a lucent pad for a short while, a delicate moment of peace before we start running in circles again. The repetitive analogue riff is great, with a mysterious journeying quality that keeps us in inexorable tow.
Tracklist A Frank De Wulf - People In Motion
B DJ HMC - Life Support Systems