Words like soulful techno, real techno and true techno are easily thrown around these days but what really is a ‘true techno’ record? Arguably we could put Nu Era’s debut 1994 “Beyond Gravity” album in that bracket.
“EVOLVE” follows in that footpath and in some ways goes back to an earlier techno sound, pretty hard to do that while still sounding futurist. EVOLVE does just that, its Nu Era still evolving without loosing formation. From the opening track “Metal Butterfly” the 909 drum machine powers through classic Marc Mac (4hero) chords and melodies, that 909 kick drum and baseline work in combination to deliver a more edgy techno belter on “Flying Colours”. The 4x4 kick is broken up on tracks and electrified on “Theme From Joe Smoke” the yin and yang forces provide a haunting but uplifting electro master class. “Closer To Mars” creeps into a fusion style tech workout, with jazzy, soulful keys and melodies intertwining, EVOLVE is complexed but simply soulful with big influence from Detroit and has all the hallmarks of a classic in waiting.