Neo gives us a look at stripped-back, dissociative funk and deep, innovative sound design on his latest from Berlin’s Primal Instinct imprint, “A Call For Response”.
So where are we in 2025? We’re at a retro crossroads where the new generation wasn’t around when Hardgroove was just called techno, and now Hardtek and Hardstyle are passed off as techno. Not like it’s a big deal or anything… However, there are a few labels and producers that are rightfully looking to be at the forefront of change in this futuristic and forward-thinking music known as techno.
Primal Instinct is definitely one of those labels actively looking to challenge the status quo and give us something new. Here with Neo and his release “A Call For Response”, we have something a bit familiar with the stripped-back Robert Hood-styled minimal techno aesthetic, but it’s giving us a new flavor and new vibe. Or possibly it’s just a new combination of ideas that are definitely a bit more fresh and risky than what’s in the bins at your online digital music retailer at present. While a majority of people are going for either this modular synthesizer or atmospheric soup to drive the track and push straight beats forward (or counting on what works with good old rolling and driving techno), the stripped-back, warbled, and funky beats in Neo’s release here feel like a breath of fresh air.
What sets the stage for the release is “Don’t Let it Know,” which sounds like a cross between Green Velvet and Cari Lekebusch poetry session, or even a recording of a Timothy Leary lecture which traded acid for horse tranq. At first, you’re feeling the lyrics might be distracting, taking away from the expertly swung beats and syrupy leading synths. But eventually, you come into the vocal processing that is pulling at the syllables, and you realize there’s a subtle brilliance to it. For those who don’t possess English as their primary language, they may know the words from school, but most would likely be listening to the musical relation to the syllables and consonants rather than the content. It’s a great piece, and the nuance between elements is well worth the listen.
Some of the major standout sound designs for this EP would be the use of phaser envelopes and filtering in Banana Split, as well as the pushed and smushed synths in Gravity Wave. The manipulation of the audio, where it sounds physically pulled or stretched, is truly remarkable on this release. The more you listen to it, the more it becomes a central point of the release. The more you feel it, the more you feel you can relate to the heavy-headed, body-twisted feeling that was laid down by the leading track “Don’t Let it Know”. For example, some of the resonant rubbery synths in “Looking Glass” are funkier than Lee Perry’s tie-dyed beard.
There are atmospheres on this release despite it being a primarily minimal techno styled release, but they’re largely handled by the reverb, which is present but not used in an overpowering manner. What mostly sells the EP as a minimal release is the lack of a stereotypical rumble, but mostly that staple is hinted at in the decay of the kick and subdued throughout the EP.
As with most minimal-styled tracks, the drums have a lot of thought in them from a sound design standpoint, and the EP certainly doesn’t fail here either. It’s noteworthy to check the detail in the drum sound design—lots of tiny little distorted crusts on each drum beat to train your ears on—as with “Wrong Number” and “Looking Glass.” There’s a good deal of fast syncopation that flies under the radar, possibly in the dotted 16ths, which are balanced really nicely with the main instruments so that they vanish a bit with frequency masking. If we are correct in this assumption, this is certainly an elite move.
Additionally, some of the filtering and compression on the low end in these tracks feel a bit snipped. Seemingly, a lot of the top end of those elements was removed with a heavy dB cut, leaving a lot of the kick and bass feeling blunted and resting on your sinuses. All in all, just a charming and well-considered design added to every little detail throughout. The EP is a good place to get lost in if you’re looking to get lost in it, or it can be a comforting cellmate if held captive by a dissociative state.
Wrapping it up, a lot of people will be pulled in by the epic peaktime flavors of “Banana Split”, but what stays with you will be the hands of Neo’s synth work, filtering, and deep sonic interactions that have a great deal of cerebral detail. If we’re looking to amplify these sounds as tall and massive as Egyptian monuments, as they would be on a proper sound system, they come alive, in your face, and surround you. Some of the releases out there this week are struggling for purpose, meaning, or wringing their hands, holding back in hopes that their music will sell.
On “A Call For Response,” Neo and Primal Instinct have essentially issued a statement that they’ll constantly wow and impress, because all of those other labels and artists are too busy playing it safe, and as such, have that timid mentality baked into their music.
If there’s no risk, there’s no reward. Techno is about taking some calculated risks, without which, the music would be dreadfully boring. People already know and love Primal Instinct for this reason; this “A Call For Response” EP stocks their larder with more weight to stand behind that statement.
-Sean Ocean
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