:: Groovetechnology Vol.3

Swayzak

Deep, dubby techno. Or is it deep, dubby house? Two ways I’ve tried to describe the Swayzak sound to people and this mix really nails it. A fantastic collection of tracks mixed in a fairly simple way. Swayzak (James Taylor & David Brown) don’t really regard themselves as DJ’s, rather astute producers with a deft touch at creating some of the most sublime electronic music of the last few years. They’ve assembled their inspirations and favourites for Groovetech, an Internet only electronic music store. Refusing categorisation, they just as happy to serve up deep minimal techno as experimental dub poetry or blissed-out sultry tech-house. This two-disc mix captures that feeling perfectly. Disc ones is slightly faster, a little more jacking’, but is still damn deep and wonderfully minimal. Standouts here (and it’s really difficult to pick) are Architecture by Akufen, a beautiful chugging burner perfect for late nights when less is more. The groove is kept solid throughout, with it reaching somewhat of a climax with Q1.1 by deep school legends Basic Channel. Things calm way down and get damn sexy with Syknro, by Finnish producer Luomo. Herbert with his classic Back to the Start then rounds of disc one beautifully. Disc two is a slower, deeper affair, beginning with a beautiful piece of spoken word dub poetry by Colin Newman, together with techno jock Corrado Izzo. This disc is dominated by a more “glitch” techno sound and some nice warm electro. Son.Sime from New Zealand chips in with a beauty in the form of Upekah. Very impressive. Why can’t all mix albums be this interesting? Perfect for winter nights at home.