Following the continuous play CD format, the opening track Future�s Past really sets the emotional and structural tone for the next 50 minutes. Coming on like a funked-up John Carpenter movie theme, it�s cinematic, big room techno at its best. The slow, rhythmic pulse of distant machinery is abruptly punctuated by dramatic synth stabs, before a staccato micro-melody tentatively enters the frame. Unassuming at first, this nervous little riff morphs through several different stateses over the following nine minutes with a seriously jacking groove in tow, before finally succumbing to the darkness. Epic in proportions, Confession is without doubt one of the major achievements on show here and continues the expansive theme. Timeless techno strings that drift in to dominate the first half of the track, while the lush sounds capes, hypnotic melodies and edgy peripheral efx combine to create a structurally complex, symmetrical arrangement that continually constructs and deconstructs before finally returning to its point of origin and dramatically folding in on itself. The first single, Signs, has figured heavily in Richie Hawtin�s recent sets. The understated introduction with its deep, funky bassline, loose hihat groove and sci-fi vocal efx soon makes way for the urgent, cavorting melody that bounds forward until the massive, resonating synthetic bass drops, wiping out everything in its path. Things start to get really interesting from a rhythmic standpoint as the subtle introduction of disco and Caribbean influenced time signatures give a new dimension to the chugging groove, offering the perfect foil to the sonic mayhem overhead. In a similar fashion, Out of Here employs a crazy swing beat groove in tandem with the fragile, otherworldly main motif. The initial friction between these fractured elements is soon forgotten as Heartthrob drops a few more unifying sequences into the mix and the gravitational pull becomes too good to ignore. MINUS Multimedia GmbH | Gaudystr. 26