mindstalker vs. djco2 carbonstalker

year: 2008 (oct) format: ecopak cdr silver label: control freak records pre-order now! audio samples

material from around 1998 that very few have ever heard. the smooth techno stylings of mindstalker's "mindstalker" EP vs. the dark drum and bass attack of djco2's EP "carbon attack" combined into a single package unaltered and unedited. i promise it's still an excellent listen. some of the best stuff to ever come out of the control camp.

for it's 10 year anniversary, control freak records is sticking both EPs onto a single package.

.: tracklist :.

mindstalker
1 ???
2 ???
3 orb3
4 guilty mind
5 in control
6 ???
7 ???
djco2
8 carbon attack
9 ???
10 distorted signals
11 siphon
12 take down
13 contact

.: reviews :.

industrial.org

...What djc02 really has cooked up here though is an aesthetically soothing and respectably complex beat stream which is competent as any I have heard in the last whileand is reminiscent of the more accomplished mp3.com types such as Cycladine or InfoSuffer. While not necessarily the most archatecturally distinct entity, 'Carbon Attack' is a solid, listenable effort.

The disc kicks off with a self titled piece centered around a well anchored tech step structure plus an almost trance like bit of melodic bleepiness, the filter envelope somewhere between a xylaphone and water drops. I have no complaints over the results, all the technical choices are of impeccable pedigree and I don't mind it really but just don't expect even the slightest bit of abrasion as the highend blippy bit polishes this up enough to be on a Moonshine or even a Cleopatra collection. The second track leads into what I would describe as a less stoopid and dissapointing Metalheads (as in Metalheads *always* let you down) or perhaps less boom-boom-bastic Panacea, i.e. trite and crisp drum percussion plus phattened swoops and wavering textural thingies here and there. The odd little bit of muted thunder introduced is a nice touch and helps add some slight portent to the material. By third track 'distorted signals', the sonics have actually picked up some momentum with this being the first time I had the feeling I might be able to distuingish djc02 in a crowd. Again, muted sounds are used to create a subtle suggestion of claustrophobia and subconcious stress. An excellent use of reverb helps mark out the urban space and some submerged high end sonics act like hidden electrodes to the temporal lobes, the listener with increasingly frantic eye movements trying to located the source of the mild shocks. 'siphon' is an extremely short rhythmic burst which is a shame as the blurbling bass drop combined with the structurally minimalist drum loop and short staccato clicks generates a thoroughly engaging presence. Not enough to pull you out of the car to see what caused the wreck but more than enough to brag that it made you look. Track 5 'take down' merges some of the themes from the previous track but trades the atmosphere in for a slightly cheezy amplitude modulated two note riff that kind of lowers the impact in my opinion. Not horrifically, and to others with somewhat different tastes, they would be looking at me like I am a moron. Ahem. Even I don't hate it but it does make me think 'polka techstep' with its accordian like back and forth. Smooth transitions though, so I will definitely hand over for losing that bet. The closing piece 'contact', manages to pull off an 'Amen' like break without me immediately screaming 'Hammer Head', which if you have read many of my reviews is the immediate sign of disrepsect. None here though. This track pulls in some really slick shortcut riffing which the underbeat provides ample structural support for. My only complaint would be that I think it deserves some major kick reinforcement, at least towards the end to compete with the repetitive C64 lead lick. Still, a nice track that doesn't alienate.

This time out I feel that things have finally coallesced, there is less a sense of someone trying to find their identity and more of 'let me at the fucking controls'. 'Carbon Attack' may skirt away from the darker sectors and doesn't have the steel glint of nastier tech step material but it was worth the listen. I expect that the next round from control.org will remove any lingering doubts.