The Southern returns for the second installment of the “Particle” EP series off CLR, coming correct with a pair of hard, body-jacking, Techno floor fillers and modern classic-sounding cuts.
Definitely been enjoying these 2-tracker releases off the CLR label as of late. It sends a real clear message that Chris Liebing and co. are willing to risk what they believe in and are selective in what they show to the world. That’s a great amount of confidence in a time when there’s 8-track releases being called “EPs” out there that used to constitute an album about 10-15 years ago. Though here, it seems that with Carmine Portarulo, The Southern is alluding to a real full album if the “Particle” EPs take off.
This second release in the series seems to be taking the more fun and jacking approach, whereas the first release was more or less a foray into distorted, foggy, mind-bending Schranz-style interpretation of musical trepanation. Different strokes for different folks, but having a little bit of both—the hard-banging techno with the classic principles of funk and speaker-jacking beats—will always seem to win out over everything.
Which is why “Memories” is so powerful as a Techno track. Techno shouldn’t be sentimental or nostalgic, sure, but those chords and rides are as much a defining characteristic of Techno as the hypnotic groove that’s driving the kick and bass interaction on this track. Similarly, we get a lot of the same classic character with the track “From Light to Darkness,” which sounds like Jeff Mills and Kevin Saunderson jamming. Saunderson, with the dark riffing bassline, and Mills, on the 909, respectively. Consequently, the track sounds like Techno because it contains such key influences.
You can go wrong by referencing or always looking backward, but what we’re seeing is that audiences who aren’t familiar with the classics of the past are just now rediscovering them. Hertz is a massive influence here, and Samuel L. Session is bringing up his back catalog, so there’s a big want to capitalize on these old ideas. We are also seeing Techno musicians trying to find a strong identity to build on to move forward in the music, and that often means relying on the pre-existing tropes that Techno is well known for.
Thankfully, The Southern has a solid understanding of modern Techno aesthetics and strong modern mixing chops to make these classic concepts real in a modern-day context. The result is obviously a pair of really heavy and energetic tracks that are great to dance with a fist held high.
-Sean Ocean
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