Review: Tentakel - TwoFace

I've always had a soft spot for 'techno'....I never had much time for trance or house (and variations thereof) but there was always something about the clinical coldness and hard edges of techno that appealed. I'll admit I don't listen to much these days, but when I do I enjoy it. What is even more enjoyable is when techno includes more than passing nods to other genres.....and that's what we have here from Tentakel. For the most part it is 'banging' (is that still a term?) techno but cleverly intertwined are the soundtracks of John Carpenter and passages of twisted kosmische. What is even better, and surely a hallmark of quality, is that it has been given a release by Zeon Light Skiva, the Swedish label that, along with sister Zeon Light (which is the tape releases) has a back catalogue of such luminaries as E Gone and Flowers Must Die. I am aware that this release falls outside of the blog's psych/kraut etc remit - but I like it, so there!

Opener 'Wavedrum' starts with a hum and a clatter of metallic beats, you get the impression that this is a precursor to the track settling down into something more structured, but the drone and the sub-industrial noise continues. A lovely oscillating rhythm is introduced and it becomes a superb abstract/experimental piece. 'Transmission' is 100mph right out of the block...a surging techno number that, as alluded to above, has aspects of a Carpenter-esque soundtrack except sped up a bit (a lot). It has enough going on to distance this from your typical club fare..it throws in some kosmische washes of synth and changes in tone and structure that all go to make this a rich and immersive track. 'Translucent' is a rare vocal track (vox provided by Sebastian McMurphy from Viagra Boys) and is harder and tougher. The vocals have an aggressive swagger that combine well with the hard-edged music and the reverb laden effects. 'Impulse' is more of a straight up techno track with a strong repetitive rhythm that exhilarates. It is the sort of track that you would expect to find in a mix by Rrose or Perc...it's that good. 'Doppelganger' is another with a 'Carpenter On speed' quality...very cinematic with flashes of kosmische mixed throughout....definitely a stand-out for me, while 'Inversion' ups the soundtrack quality even further. Bordering sometimes on synthwave, it has some awesome drum fills and spacey effects and is a hi-octane belter. 'Impulse' features once more, but this time remixed by Lehnberg. The remix slows things down a tad with a pulsing heartbeat like rhythm and more effects than the original. It has more of a psytrance feel to it than the other tracks, but this is no bad thing. 'Surgeon' hints at the Berlin scene of the seventies but brought bang up to date with the techno beat and surging rhythm and album closer 'Outro' rounds things off nicely with an atmospheric, drone heavy piece that would fit very nicely into a horror film....feelings of desolation and dread abound....a pessimistic but high class way in which to conclude what is a highly enjoyable album.

As I mentioned earlier, this album is out of my normal purview, however there is enough happening on it to definitely warrant a review. It may be ostensibly techno but has flashes of so much more. Tentakel has taken the synth sound of soundtracks and woven it amongst the beats and even thrown in some kosmische that adds a new dimension and dynamic to proceedings. It is a very clever album....entirely seamless in the way it introduces new elements and completely holds the listeners attention. It is available from the Zeon Light Skiva Bandcamp page here and comes as a download or vinyl album.