Altered Zones

Pounding, minimal, dark... These adjectives are all too commonly deployed to describe the music of both France's Terence Fixmer and Berlin's Marcel Dettmann, two of the leading lights in modern techno. But honestly, it's hard to talk about either of them without resorting to at least a few of these convenient touchstones. For instance, this Dettmann remix from Fixmer's new EP, Le Terrible, is definitely Pounding. And Dark. And Minimal (though thankfully not very "mnml"). While the gloom relents a little bit as some vaguely melodic synth tries to bubble its way through all the cloying darkness, Dettmann's relentless heartbeat-tweaking bass pulsations and drifting, space-reshaping noise sweeps are as unmistakable and uncompromising as ever. As perfect a portrait of the neue elektronische musik that's been so exciting this last half decade as any, I'm sure this remix will be "pounding" Berlin's club goers over the head for much of the rest of this as yet young decade. And if you are planning to listen to this music on some sound reproduction device that doesn't have a subwoofer, don't. --Arturo Darvishire, Altered Zones

Terence Fixmer: "Dance Like Paranoid (Marcel Dettmann Rmx)"

Le Terrible EP is out now on Speedy J's Electric Deluxe imprint