Back in the late '80s and early '90s, techno was everywhere. It's not particularly fashionable these days, but then that's the vagaries of the music scene for you. Bitstream started out after this halcyon period, and the fact they're sticking to their guns shows they are not particularly bothered about what the hipsters are listening to these days. There's a strong influence here from the Artificial Intelligence series which was so important for Warp Records in the early '90s, particularly in the sci-fi feel of the music, although this album is certainly rougher and tougher than the more ambient stuff that Warp put out at that time. Indeed, the harsher beats of LFO and the more industrial, post-Warp output of Speedy J are more relevant touchstones.
In common with Autechre, Bitstream put a lot of thought and attention-to-detail in their music and draw on influences outside of the standard Detroit/Kraftwerk/Eno axis in order to make their music distinctive from others. One interesting influence which can be detected on several tracks is the avant-garde classical work of Penderecki and Ligeti (no, I hadn't heard of them before I researched this review!). One of the techniques they used was known as micropolyphony, involving the composition of choral lines which rise and fall in very small tonal progressions, creating a haunting effect which works fantastically well on tracks such as "Come And Play With Us" and "Chain." The level of detail is also impressive and you can tell a lot of effort has been taken to get each sound just right, with a multitude of programmed bleeps used as percussion instead of the ubiquitous hi-hat featured on many techno records.
Unlike Autechre's more recent output, which is a little too cerebral for my liking with its unusual time signatures and stark sound, Bitstream keep one foot on the dancefloor with some evil electro percussion and retain an ear for melody; "Open Sesame" would kick most clubs off and "F Codex" is an evocative closer. It is the grimy, dark tone of the album which imbues it with such personality, sounding like the soundtrack to a depraved porn film of the future. This style of music should not be written off when quality albums such as this are still being made. Techno is dead. Long live techno.
1. Ice Core Laboratory
2. Come And Play With Us
3. Open Sesame
4. Chain
5. Bass Lobe
6. Dragon 32
7. Orange Room
8. Geodesic Space Dome
9. Skymon
10. Test Tube
11. F Codex
More about: Bitstream
