Setaoc Mass has demonstrated with this release that he’s not just about his signature warm kicks, or powerful dark atmospheres. He’s an artist always looking to progress and do something new to create breadth and further deepen what his work means to him and his audience.
It feels like we haven’t heard much studio work from Mr. Coates in some time, not since his “Working Ways” release on Blueprint last year. That’s not to say he’s been resting on his laurels, as an artist and leading figure of the Techno scene, his touring schedule is pretty solid. And he has been developing a new personal life while exploring more creative outlets. As an AR, he’s been developing and pushing his SK-X series to a more consistent degree, working with and breaking talent to a wider audience. Suffice to say, the man has been busy, but the selections on this “Future / Past” EP are definitely a result of careful consideration, and forethought as to what the idea of Setaoc Mass means to him.
Starting with the outlier on the EP, “Koxaio,” we can see that this downtempo track is a personal reflection of his own and an exploration of something outside the confines of Techno. The sound is definitely akin to some proper English Ambient Techno—Black Dog, B12, and some nods to IDM and the Warp catalog. As an Englishman, who’s spent a great deal of time living in Berlin (and now Kyiv) as well as touring constantly, this track seems dripping with some nostalgia for a home that inspired so many great creative minds. You can’t help but think that this song is a return to a warm and inviting place that was at the beginning of so many people’s journeys into electronic music. It’s honest and expressive and entirely disarming.
“Seeing Clear” and the other tracks on the EP remind the listener that Setaoc Mass is of a particular ideology, but a mutable one. In “Seeing Clear,” you get a real sense of the typical sound of Setaoc Mass—strong and simplified evolving tracks with the groove being a central focus while peering deeper, like you’re trying to decipher the origins of the interstitial elements and deeper layered synths.
The title track “Future/Past” harkens to a previously known stylistic approach of warm kicks, but the groove is faster and peels off the beat in a more linear fashion constantly accelerating the elements forward. It’s the bass push that really sets the track off, moving forward and constantly setting up expectations and meeting them rapidly. The track is a stylistic jumping-off point, since it’s this bass push and shuffling rhythm that is featured as the main element in “Late Night Calling.” It’s an older element that has been around since the days of Disco but is really used here to make something fresh and technical sounding that is new. “Late Night Calling” is a fresh face for what we have typically considered to be a Setaoc Mass track.
Further cementing this methodology, the leading track on the EP, “One,” is an expression of mastery in the Techno genre; it cannot be topped. This is the track you are rinsing out amid a long and seriously pummeling night of bangers to freshen up the air. It’s understated and sophisticated, and the execution is breathtakingly effortless. Still, while it does that, it retains this subdued anthem-like quality. It’s one of those tracks that will turn the light on for some people who might still be in the dark as to what proper Techno sounds like, and this is very much it.
Taking stock here, it’s obvious that Sam Coates has a really decent idea about how to curate an EP creatively. For most label owners, one of the joys of releasing records is to curate an experience as you listen through a carefully selected release. It says more that you care about what goes into the world than shotgunning a 50-artist VA to Distrokid or what have you. The track progression here on this “Future / Past” EP really tells the story of Setaoc Mass as a concept evolving creatively through his influences on the road as well as his demo submissions for his sub-label.
-Sean Ocean
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