Ben Sims & Kirk Degiorgio / Machine
Vinyl / Digital
Machine / Released May 2012
What does it sound like?
Sims and Degiorgio’s London party, Machine, sees a label set up in honour of the techno session, and it’s a varied bag of tougher than house tracks that keep things sounding suitably British given the imprint’s namesake event, albeit with more than a nod to the old Motor City homeland. Which should be enough to convince fans these three tunes are worth buying, meaning what follows is really aimed at fence-sitters.
Within the trio we call off at futurist arpeggios, piano rollers, and melodic builders- offering something of a holy trinity of classic techno styles. Not that things come across dated. Degiorgio’s Machine Theme opens the scoring with analogue harmonies and all manner of percussive and synth accents, creating a busy, old school feeling workout that drops into potential hands in the air breakdowns of refrained notes and warm basslines, making for a surprisingly euphoric affair.
Less shocking is the fact that Sims goes for more of a take no prisoners approach with his remix, throwing sledgehammer beats (sounding rather metallic and Perc-like) into the mix with staccato pianos and waves of hi-hats, developing an engagingly direct main room number that still ensures there’s plenty of soul behind the machine. Meanwhile we also get Sims’ solo offering, Metal Works, which comes complete with pulsating low ends, filtered hooks and Rob Hood style warehouse accents.
What highlights can I expect to hear?
Sims’s retake of Degiorgio’s original Machine Anthem takes first prize from where we’re listening; solid enough to satisfy even the most die hard whilst boasting enough details to stay musically interesting.
Where can I buy it?
Juno.
