Lessons In Hypnotism: Leif & Inga Mauer Reviewed

Inga Mauer. Image credit: Rene Passet Flickr 

Two of Techno's brightest names show off their mesmerising chops on two of 2017's most exciting dance releases thus far

Artist: Leif
Album: July V/ Shoulders Back
Record Label: Tio Series

While it may run the risk of becoming "the cliched story" to cynical minds, one of dance music's proudest traditions is its record label culture. After years on the circuit as both a producer and DJ, it seems more like a natural step for the London-based Leif Knowles than it does for most. His esoteric deliveries and prolific output since the mid-noughties have certainly given him enough of a platform to launch something that celebrates those consistencies even further.

July V/ Shoulders Back is the debut release on his newly fashioned Tio Series imprint, and as expected it barrels through with all the character and nuance we've come to expect from him with a resolutely fresh twist. 'July V' grows from humble beginnings into a jarring, burbling series of jagged synth loops, growing into itself seamlessly and taking on fried, layered forms. It turns in a recognisably Leif-centric melodious heart around the mid-point before finding its feet in self-assured oddness again as it draws to a close.

By contrast, 'Shoulders Back' has more of a rigid structure from the start. Drawing on a more classically banging persuasion, its mesmerising lead synth is simpler in nature but just as enticing. Coupled with a deep-cut analogue bass lick and a well-measured but propulsive beat, it proves itself just as intriguing as the weirder recesses of Knowles' work.

8/10

Artist: Inga Mauer
Album: Schtum 012
Record Label: Schtum

The new 12" by mysterious Russian producer Inga Mauer steps into contact with record label culture from a different direction. As its title suggests, it's the 12th release on rising German label Schtum, who have kick-started the likes of Avalon Emerson and Leibniz into prominence in recent years, and who have a penchant for soliciting both a hard-nosed and forward-thinking approach to techno. Mauer uses the four tracks on Schtum 012 to explore different traditions within a club-friendly framework and takes them to nearly impossibly sunken, no-nonsense depths.

Opener 'Dno' has a gloriously smooth and strident stomp to accompany its fat and fuzzy two-note synth lead that's packed with the ecstacy of a Hamburg sweatbox at 2am. 'Silences' is cavernous and dark but comes loaded with the kind of infectious, subterranean repetition that the likes of both Randomer and Roman Flugel have secured in the past. There's a real tinge of euphoria in the sense of the "doom of our time" atmospherics exorcised on the pounding closer 'Dystopia' via deceptively simple but hyper-coloured melodies and effervescent vocal samples. Best of all though is the warped, hallucinogenic crawl of 'My Flights Without You', all swamp-mired wobs and an increasingly banging but reserved groove, all an eerie base for the swirling vocal cuts floating in the foreground.

8/10