- Rotterdam may not be the country's electronic capital—that title goes to Amsterdam—but it has always been a safe haven for some serious club conspiracies. The vaults of the Clone empire alone could fill a couple of chapters in a reference book about the Dutch electronic scene. The strains of electro, disco and Italo run deep in the naval city. The same goes for classic house and Detroit techno. Thus it was hardly surprising when the electro-disco outlet Moustache (run by David Vunk) launched the Moustache Techno Series earlier this year as an offspring. And what a banging premiere it was: The EP by Gesloten Cirkel was a low-concept but high-quality package of jagged techno weirdness.
One of the major producers of his hometown, Mark Du Mosch has been fiddling around with synthesizers since '95. Here, the Dutch producer takes up Gesloten Cirkel's cue with "Captain Bligh": Obviously inspired by the villain's wooden leg, the track stomps around in an analogue frenzy, only to succumb to the lure of a faraway oriental melody. "Getting Off" and "Shields Up" are a bit less conspicuous, yet equally equipped with massively-hissing bass sounds. The EP's centerpiece, however, is worth the purchase alone: "Outerworld" builds on a spaced-out, cinematic string theme, euphoric enough to let clubbers sway endlessly into the morning. Techno at its most ultramarine.
Tracklist A1 Captain Bligh
A2 Outerworld
B1 Getting Off
B2 Shields Up