A staple among the Mexican underground scene as the label boss for ANAOH, Fixon is seen here on his second Nachtstrom Schallplatten label outing with “Fe De Errata”—an EP full of classy and proper, dark grooving Techno cuts.
Fixon has made his way back onto the Nachtstrom Scallplatten imprint after a year-long break, but he’s been keeping busy with his own imprint ANAOH as well as releasing on Soma, RSPX, Illegal Alien, Modularz, and Be As One.
The marked difference on this “Fe De Errata” release is that Nachtstrom Schallplatten’s typical horror-tinged themes have taken a bit of a back seat. There’s some dark Techno aesthetics at play here, but mostly the release showcases Fixon’s talent for slammin’ grooves that easily sweep you up inside the music.
Just putting on the title track, “Fe De Errata,” the carefully applied dynamics to the shaker and hat pattern immediately puts you into this fluttery and confused state. Under which there’s gentle modulation to keep the track moving along, but just repetitive enough that things slip under the radar. A lot of this is present in the EP as a stylistic choice, which turns out to be a balance of movement versus sensory overload. There are also lots of things to explore within the track while you’re locked in there if you point your ear to the small filtered delays in the background, which is just a nice texture to focus on while the rest of the track is grinding around your ears.
“Best Defect” and “Worst Virtue” both capitalize on this approach while “Selective Memory” explores a more energetic side. The classic 909 rides and hats are well handled, but the interesting take is the proper use of fills and quick drops that give the track a very interesting bit of life and energy. Solid, and mind-bending hypnotic Techno is great, but the twists and turns in this track are also very fun to dance to. It’s easy to jack to, but also you’re locked into the track not knowing exactly where Fixion is going to take you next, which is happy-making and thrilling to be a part of as a dancer.
Great work by Fixon. On surface inspection, the EP doesn’t seem to have much going on other than you can hear the 20 years of experience in the music and someone who knows their way around a studio. But on further inspection, you know exactly where those years have been spent with the subtle and tasteful treatment of the sounds, knowing where and how far to take things, the little bits of exploration, that aren’t too self-indulgent. Once you get pulled into these tracks, you’re definitely going to want to make them your home for a good while.
-Sean Ocean
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