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Review/ Collabs feat. Speedy J & Chris Liebing: "Magnit & Maggie"

  Tobias

It's always peculiar to find a press release opening with „artists x and act y don't need an introduction“ - as though the fact that someone's earned his dues excludes him or her from some to-the-point precursory laudatio.

In the case of Chris Liebing and Speedy J, this would be especially dire as the duo have been decisive in blurring the lines between sound art and dancefloor action; no mean feat considering how mutually suspicious these genres still were of each other a mere decade ago. Their releases, some of them now considered as landmarks and equipped with a narrative dramaturgy some of their singles-oriented colleagues could only dream of, also paved the way for a shift in focus away from DJ'ism and towards a veritable album culture in techno. Which is why it is remarkable that their latest collaboration „Magnit & Maggie“ at first seems to reverse this strategy by returning to DJ-techniques in track-building and essentially composing on the spot as well as on the basis of pre-arranged segments, sequences and sounds. On the other hand, the integration of improvisational processes acts as a mere high-voltage backbone to pieces which otherwhise display an almost ghostly precision and an abundance of detail and timbral richness amidst a purifyingly minimal instrumentation. Especially „Maggie“, with its howling metallic winds cleanses the mind and seems keen on erasing its own beat-sceleton with gnawing and razorsharp passages of aggressive robotics.

Introducing this music to ears worldwide should not be taken light-heartedly. It is of essential importance.
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