Chris Liebing drops 2-tracker EP, “Roy Batty,” as a hint of a much larger LP filled with sci-fi themes and ideas of impermanence, coming later this March.
There’s a lot to take in on this “Roy Batty” release. Especially if we’re going to try guessing what this EP (and forthcoming LP) are saying about what Chris Liebing has been up to. The references to Blade Runner, the nods to Los Angeles, and even the mastering credits all point to this EP being steeped in an unmistakable LA aura—equal parts Brooks Avenue grit and neon-soaked futurism. Maybe Liebing’s been hanging out with Drumcell, Truncate, Mr. Miller of Mute, or catching up with Martin Gore? Certainly, these are all well within the possibility of the city’s reach. But speculation aside, what we’re presented with is a 2-tracker of techno that’s a reflection of Chris Liebing himself.
“Roy Batty” has Liebing’s usually restrained sensibilities and mechanical drum programming with nuances of strongly subdued funk syncopation. But what’s new is Liebing going all in on the top end and cymbals. It’s something that hasn’t been present in his music for a while, but it’s also well-trod territory as for him and others at the turn of the century techno. All the energy was found precisely there. It’s a loving return to a known idea. And if we’re looking at the longevity of things as much as the character Roy Batty would have liked, it’s giving life to an old concept that refuses to die. It certainly works, and thanks to Liebing and his earlier contemporaries, it’s a hallmark of techno itself.
And with “Brooks Avenue,” are we talking about the long, straight street in LA that ends in a curve towards Venice Beach? Who knows… but the music is certainly blistering hot and slightly epic. It’s laid down by that hand-modulated resonant bassline and the artist’s masterful low-end presence. The high-end carry in the music really gives the feeling of an overbearing sense of heat. And those slightly distorted drums really give the sense of a drum track pushed through an amplifier that’s already been on all night. And for the placement in a set, this would be a scorcher for those sweaty and cramped parts of the night when the whole warehouse is hemmed in tight, trying to be a part of this moment together.
This “Roy Batty” EP does not disappoint. If you quickly gloss through it, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not letting the tracks sit with you and become a part of the layers. Clearly, there’s a master at work here with a sharp mind on what to convey and how to do it. As for the sci-fi themes and Los Angeles? That’s for Chris Liebing to describe.
-Sean Ocean
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