After a 20-year career, the Chilean-born, Belgian-based Ramon Tapia makes his first appearance on Rotterdam Techno mainstay Planet Rhythm with dark and stern classic-styled cuts on his “Silent Assassin” EP.
It’s kind of strange to see that one of the leading figures (that typically embodies basically the main backbone sound of Planet Rhythm) has finally teamed up to do some damage together. There’s been lots of love of course from Suara, Drumcode, and Tronic over the years, but this is obviously a match made in heaven. Especially now that this sound is very much in vogue after a new generation is discovering it in the dollar bins and is seen as a bangin’ alternative to overly simplified Hard Techno. Yet things are different now.
In the 2024 redux version of this style, there’s less emphasis on the sampling of existing material in the wild and more focus on developing sound design from existing sources—taking the original processes and making parts behave in familiar ways.
In “Cathode,” the funky beat chops around the kick are sequenced in a syncopated fashion, rather than sampled. Lots of one-shots and well-developed parts are pristinely polished by Tapia and sequenced in a familiar way. Most telling is the crash vs. ride topper sections used for tension without needing to overthink what to use there instead of that. As such, it comes across easy and off the cuff. This style is repeated in the title track, “Silent Assassin,” and “I’ll Fix It” to limited effect, with the emphasis being placed on a more grim attitude and controlling the elements with a strong grip.
The “Fear” track highlights a direction where stylistically, Tapia might be interested in pursuing. There are some hints of the artist’s love of progressive with the synth riff and pad, but it is restrained and very well controlled in a very Techno way. Stylistically, the flavor and mood of the track is similar to MORD, and sister label Kazerne’s output with a difference. In both those labels, they are speaking in a strong dark mood, but in this track, Tapia goes to an anthemic place that is unfamiliar with that sound entirely. Which in some cases, this would be a crowd-pleaser for anyone in the Techno sphere. From the chin stroker purists to the fresh-faced Hard Techno fan club, and the Business Techno migrants, there’s something for everyone here. “Fear” is classy, hard, artistic, and anthemic, and it presents it all with force and control. What’s not to love about that?
Tying it all together, Ramon Tapia is the perfect choice for Planet Rhythm to represent a growing trend for the scene that has this unrelenting hunger for classic cuts and styles but still wants a sense of modernity and power behind it. Old heads that were around in the early 00s knew this sound well, and new heads are happy to find it.
In most regards, this sound might be popular now because it makes Techno the easiest to define as “proper techno,” despite the mid 00’s minimal experimentations and the sound of Cologne taking things into uncharted territory. This sound and what it represents are a strong sense of continuity for both the artist and label that were there through it all. Where it may go from here is anyone’s guess, but hopefully, with this level of skill, experience, and mastery it goes into new and unexpected places.
-Sean Ocean
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