Carl Finlow: Count On It (Seventh Sign Recordings)

Carl Finlow has always been one of my favorite electro producers, ever since I heard his Electrilogy series over 10 years ago. I always thought of his productions as sort of the other side of the coin of a producer like Anthony Rother; both seem to take a direct cue from the robotic grooves of prime Kraftwerk, but each seems to stay current with technology and sound, not content to just ape what’s been done in the past. Carl’s vocals have tended to be an especially nice bonus when he’s willing to lend them, particularly on his Random Factor alias. It has been a considerable amount of time since I’ve heard new music from him, so when I noticed Count On It my ears pricked right up. This release finds him rolling with more of a 4-to-the-floor sound, crossing over into techno and tech house, but never compromising his knack for really lush synth arrangements. If anything this is sort of a convergence of his worlds, combining the infectious grooves of his proper name releases with the slick accessibility of Random Factor. (The mechanical broken beat electro of his Silicon Scally alter ego is not much in sight here, though.) Very nice tracks all around, though my favorite is “Count On It” and is little diced up vocoder stutters and punchy bassline.

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