Lakker: Untitled (Stroboscopic Artefacts)

Lakker’s latest on Lucy’s Stroboscopic Artefacts imprint is, for lack of a more eloquent choice of words, fucking fantastic. It is probably my favorite release on the label so far, channeling the same enthusiasm for dark-sided techno but with a flair for something more otherworldly and ambitious atop. The EP is worth the cost of admission just for “Harbour,” a positively brilliant minimal techno number that slowly reveals itself to be a vessel for unusual, microtonal, bending arrangements. The 2nd track, “eeAea,” is comprised mainly of zippy synth leads and nervous, twitchy percussion. The tight attack and release on the track’s synths combine well with all of the shaker sounds in the rhythm track to feel quite claustrophobic to good effect. “Valentina Lane” rounds the release out in style, a more spacious and chill track with a staggered kick and dubby chords, a hook that has a steady 1-2 lurch to it tempered by the more comfortable breathing room of its effects-laden arrangement.

I hadn’t picked up much of Lakker’s repertoire before, but I’m definitely going to go back and investigate; this is one of the most inspired techno records in recent memory.

Buy it: Boomkat | Bleep | iTunes | Amazon