Terry Lee Brown Junior / ‘Labyrinth’
Vinyl / MP3
Plastic City / Released November 11th 2010
Terry Lee Brown Junior is a name you may be aware of. He’s certainly been around the block a few times, as 2010 marks his 14th year with the Plastic City camp.
If you have heard Norman Feller’s moniker before, then you’ll probably know it stands for all things techy and housy. Despite the German passport, it’s a sound some might agree as being synonymous with London, albeit before that respective scene became somewhat eclipsed by younger, more urban siblings.
Starting things off with Neutral, there’s the warm bleep of Swayzak in full tune-up, and an obvious nod to Detroit. That said, the dub influence clearly shines through here, and perhaps most notably in tracks like Ego Expedition and Paradise, though all 14 have subs smeared over them somewhere. Putting down the cannabinoids and picking up the opiates, at his most downtempo Mr Brown offers up the kind of ambience Carl Craig is often shamefully not name checked for. The finest example is Labyrinth Reprise, an interlude worthy of many more minutes.
Back to all things bass-heavy, and the club moments are the best of the bunch. It Started Right Here has Room One at Fabric etched into the black plastic, such is the depth of the low end mixed with an any-which-way intent. Similarly, Balitimore, while disappointing anyone looking for said US city’s token noise, shuffles its way, Gemini style, through filtered summer time organs. And those looking for where the real dancefloor begins, can rest assured once the hook and percussive meld of Tribe sets in, at the right volume you’ll find it with ease.
It’s unlikely many listeners who aren’t already of a tech-disposition will find much to get excited about. But that’s always been the case with this smoothest of genre straddling styles. Play some tracks softly, and mellow vibes wash over you, like 6am bathwater. Turn others up, and there may as well be a guy in the corner of the room, dancing like a monkey with a strobe in his face. Here both ends find representation, proving again that these are the tracks that groove all night.
