“Iridescent.” is a 13-track compilation from Spanish label SEMANTICA that proudly presents Techno through a lens of softness, ambience, and light.
Techno often thrives from a sense of sinister sexiness. Its industrial undertones and raw rhythms create an alluring atmosphere for anyone interested in the underground and occult. While the genre is typically associated with hard, dark, and mechanistic rhythms, the “Iridescent.” compilation offers a stark contrast to this notion with its warm, soft, and subtle sensuality.
Across the 13 tracks, all from artists with past releases on the label, the compilation bursts forth in radiant and prismatic hues, exploring exuberant sonic landscapes where sounds effortlessly drift by—ethereal, expansive, full of possibilities.
The journey through “Iridescent.” begins with blissful ambience fit for a psychedelic healing ceremony, then slowly oscillates between quasi-IDM and hypnotic techno tracks throughout the remainder of the release.
Bright and twinkling pinpricks of sound sparkle over pillowy soft foley on opening track “Del Mar” by Launaea, while Civilistjävel! sonically captures the expansiveness of an Aurora-laden night sky on “Sjösjön.” The first inklings of a rhythm emerge from sonar pings on the third track “Euphoria” by Vera Logdanidi, where warm and dubby chords fill out the space around the short and snappy blip for percs.
On “Orbital Sander,” MTRL sprinkles springy metallic droplets for drums over synths queasily churning in the background. Label boss Svreca pairs a dry and pumping 909 kick against a broken shaker loop and uneasy drones on “Puro y Radiante,” while contrastingly—CØRE ventures into subterranean ominousness on “Charcoal,” a Techno ode to the powers of heat and pressure. PRG/M delves deep into Donato Dozzy territory on “Tubolara”—a sonic soundscape full of chirps, growls, and ribbits, like some kind of trippy synthetic jungle full of colorful creatures.
Polygonia’s playful approach to production is a stellar standout on the perfectly palindromic “MViVM,” a fantastically hypnotic track and an epitome of onomatopoeia where each sonic element sounds like it swells and reverses back into itself. Irakli lays down a rolling subby loop on “Attention Nr. 5”, while synths shimmer through the mix like light between the trees as you’re skiing through the slopes of your mind.
Another standout is “Tears of Applause (2024-2004)” by techno’s prima psychoacoustic provocateur, Rrose. Here, the genre-defying producer conjures up sleight of hand in sound design, transforming trippy tape loops and applause into a cacophonous din of rain, a cathartic cello solo, the vocoded voice of spirits, then slowly back to silence.
As the compilation begins its slow descent back into ambient, the final three tracks start to flow together like one suite of music. Joachim Spieth tames the raw power of hiss, noise, and symphonic swells of chords on “Purpur”, fading out and leaving space for the lush drones and tones of “8824” by Ryo Murakami to emerge from the hazy aural waves. The closing track, “March 18th,” by Edanticonf blooms around a Buchla melody bouncing while gleeful bees buzz in the stereo field, the sun shining through layers of clouds in a milky opalescence.
Although a compilation, there is a clear cohesion across the release, lending itself the quality of playing like a proper album from start to finish. There are many opinions about the current state of Techno and its various subgenres, but something about this compilation is giving: ”The faster you go, the further behind you get. Sometimes the best way forward is to slow down.”
Bump this when you get home from the afters, body high, blissed out, melting into the mattress. And don’t forget, sometimes it’s ok to slow down.
-Alex Dahm
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