Interstate One is a brand, head-spankingly new vinyl-only Acid Techno label from Russia. Though homegrown artists will be featured on the forthcoming Interstate Two, this debut release features all UK-based producers. Here, you’ll find the emphasis is very much on the 303 here: these tracks bang, but they don’t bludgeon.
Waveform from Steve Mills begins things with a rolling beat and an acid line that builds, with another, higher-pitched one skronking away behind it. It’s classic Mills, his ability to hit the sweet spot and stay there remaining undimmed.
Warped is the sound of a producer really finding his feet. In this case Benji303, who gets all lab technician, laying down a base solution of tough techno and tweaking acid over the top. A breakdown at around the 3.00 mark sees the various elements dissembling, but this isn’t about fireworks so much as elegance. Benji’s tracks are always marked by a total love of the 303 sound, and so he lets the acid build again to the outro.
Tik Tok’s been on a bit of a roll lately. I never got around to reviewing Rave On but thought it was an ace tune. Like that one, Angry Villagers lays off on gimmicks and concentrates on heads-down bangerishness. Unafraid to explore new ideas, it shares a common quality with his best tracks, where although you feel as though they could spiral out of control at any second, they never quite do. Ace.
Lastly, Tassid, who couldn’t be dull if he tried. Asylum uses echo-treated vocals and found sound for that genuine scary sanitarium quality, and when the acid comes in at 3.03 (yes, really) it’s scuzzy and funky as hell. A superb way to end a flawless EP.
Get it from: Stay Up Forever
A Chronicle of Rabbits 