EDLX.031 Bells EP – Terence Fixmer
Doesn’t feel like two years since we had Terence Fixmer’s dark techno on Acid Ted but apparently it is. He’s a new EP out on Electric Deluxe to listen and an unreleased track for free download.
The EP’s title track is offered as “a homage to the pitch black dance floors of the night” (wish I’d written that). But this is to imply thta it’s all unsubtle nosebleed. And nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a dubby, dark corner techno tune but with space to breathe and the occasional shaft of light entering the dark. Lovely track. In Chains is the one that justifies the pitch black tag. This is neo-industrial overwhelming through oppression, rather than sheer force. Admirable, rather than enjoyable. The EP ends with Subspace Two, which returns to dubbier waters and allows the EP to end on a warmer, more hopeful note. Quality techno.
Buy: EUR13 http://shop.electricdeluxe.net/vinyl-cd/edlx-031v-bells/
The unreleased track dates from 1996 and is called Detune Your Brain. This one is techno of the darkest variety:
Blurb: It’s been over a year since the Planete Rouge graced our fair roster, which is why we’re pleased to welcome Terence Fixmer back into the EDLX fold with ‘Bells’. This is the fifth stand-alone EP from him for Electric Deluxe, on top of his last LP ‘Comedy Of Menace,’ and offers three more exquisite samples of what the techno veteran does best. Almost a counter-point to Fixmer’s last EDLX release—the dubby, warmed through ‘When The Sun’ EP—‘Bells’ is a homage to the pitch black dance floors of the night, with all his hypnotism and industrial hues in place. “Bells” opens right in the thick of it, with alarm knells and viscous vapours swirling round a lasso loop that will hook you until sunrise. “In Chains” is it’s raw cousin—just as dark, unsettled, and riled with analogue sounds. But as midnight begins to dip into eternity, closer “Subspace Two” offers up a lasting sunny reprieve. The EP ends on a serotonin-soaked moment where dub, techno and house close their eyes and sway as one. ‘Bells’ is a versatile record, which sees Terence Fixmer cater for every nocturnal occasion.
ACID TED 
[…] Fixmer’s new EP is on Planet Rouge but he previously appeared here last year with his Bells EP on Electric Deluxe, who specialise in uncompromising techno. This is more of the […]