Setaoc Mass, while rocking an impressive touring schedule, joins the Belgian Fuse Imprint to give us his second solo EP this year with the release of “Static Rush.”
Lots of praise has already spilled all over this release in the last week or two, so why not pour on one more? Because whenever Mr. Coates releases a record, it immediately goes into the bag—no questions asked, end of statement. So run home, spark up a joint, and watch that bad boy spin. And thanks to a generous and busy touring schedule, the gentleman is under no pressure or obligation to put out any material, yet he still releases his techno, retaining an expressive voice as a leader in the techno community. This also marks another release that has become an impressive run for the legendary Fuse club’s Imprint, having such heads as Dold, Markus Suckut, Phara, Temudo, and Altinbas showing up for the club’s own record label.
So what’s the difference here? Where has Setaoc Mass looked to evolve his sound as an artist? For one, you could hear there is a new softness within his music, where there’s an exploration of driven but slightly emotive synthesis that still takes you to another place, but there’s an emotional peace found in his work that has come about. Whether it is to say he’s found himself a new ground emotionally to express these deeper feelings is up for debate. It is possible that with a busy schedule as a DJ, the music is an expression of solace and a reflection of finding himself 100% where he needs to be in his professional and personal life. Or possibly without trying to guess too much, it is an evolution of the desire to meld more meaningfulness and a touch of personal soul and reflection into techno, as evidenced by the stellar standout track “Koxaю” last year.
Some of this is present in the sweeping unison synths in “The Sky Above,” where the synths could come off flat, but they reach up constantly, tugging on emotions in a very slight and exhilarating fashion. You can feel it in the modulated chords and suspensions in “Shade,” where you’re noticing the emotional tug but also being pushed into this dissociative state. Maybe an acknowledgment of the emotive statement and the audience’s interaction would be “Feeling.” This one is pure Setaoc Mass; gritty and deep drums meet his knowledgeable and focused low end. Then there’s “Flutter By,” which truly is an expressive and emotive piece. Not going so far as to put down a repeat of Detroit Techno, since the synths are a deep representation of the artist’s style, but Detroit Techno certainly laid the foundation for this music to have a clear and respected voice. Lastly, the closing track “Overload” really becomes a full-on representation of an emotional exploration within synthesis alone, where the analog poly and wavetable synths swirl and build off of each other’s tension elements without much release, then the sounds creep up your sides and spiral off into space.
So with all this said, Setaoc Mass has certainly benefited from being busy as a touring artist. He has also made time to review and explore synthesis in a way that gives him a fresh voice in comparison to the rest of his catalog. “Static Rush” EP offers something that is unmistakably techno, but it also pushes a unique techno soul that is all his own. Kudos to Setaoc Mass.
-Sean Ocean
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