Kmyle’s propensity towards the deeper side of techno and Ramon Tapia’s essential banging techno formula meet on their latest collab “Expression” for Moroccan label, Sotor Records.
To be quite honest, it wasn’t the author’s intention to do a music review on a track we premiered last week, but hell, the release really is that good. Stacking up against the other releases, “Expression” truly is the word for this release. We see it time and time again: artists just trying to make something, for the sake of something, and in reality, they are saying a lot of nothing. Or maybe those other artists miss the mark and forget to convey a connection to their audience with emotional impact.
While there are a lot of technically skilled and very creatively put-together tracks, people still want to get down and dance. The message that both Kmyle and Tapia want to convey is that you can have both and arguably should always keep the deeply artistic alongside the slamming techno to make things meaningful and fun.
Take, for example, “Singularity.” It’s obviously a track that puts a smile on your face, but it also has some lovely bits of sound design nested within the chugging beats. And you can really tell that it’s Kmyle going in for the layup and Tapia throwing down power drums for the slam dunk. This is also shown on “Expression,” where there’s definitely Kmyle’s lush sonic tapestry that helps to set up the rigid and heavy funk of what seems to be Ramon Tapia’s signature rhythm section concepts. The track “Mental Space” also follows suit but remains on the deeper side, which is a good contrast to the previously mentioned slamming tracks on the EP.
There’s a special treat on the “Expression” as the EP has a hired gun slinger with Exos on remix duties for “Mental Space”. It seems as though Exos really understood the assignment here and replaced the power drums of Tapia’s stylistic choices with his own warmer, rapid grooves and pared-down lushness of Kmyle’s contributions, in the form of dub hits, which is also a reference to Exos’ roots as a dub techno producer.
Marseille’s own Moteka features a remix that follows a different direction than their normal heavy, fast, and gritty style for a more introspective and dubby look than what is on offer for the rest of the EP. Moteka’s grit and rasp are still there, but there’s a deep look into the interaction of elements that are bubbling up from under the surface.
If you want to really know when an artist, label, or DJ really gets what techno is about, you’ll most likely find that the music connects in an artistic fashion to a high degree, but also conveys an expressive and emotional response. Even if the music is essentially made by machines, it takes some real knowledge and, of course, a deep knowledge of how to convey an expression within the confines of techno music. When we hear it, it immediately connects and unites every soul in the room. When we don’t, it’s off-putting and essentially soulless, and boring.
Safe to say there’s none of that here. All the artists on board really have gotten with the real program of what techno is all about and have united on “Expression” to say something worthwhile.
Listen to our podcasts here.
Find out more about our Events here.
Listen to our review picks here.
