Oxia - KYŌ001

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  • A decade ago, Oxia, AKA Olivier Raymond, was a key player in the French underground. Alongside his Grenoble-based friends The Hacker and Kiko, he helped mint an effervescent, electro-tinged strain of techno that flourished on the margins of electro-clash. Despite its dark, EBM overtones, what NME christened "champagne techno" was also inspired by 1970s disco. On 2012's Tides Of Minds, Raymond dabbled in everything from folk-pop to deep house. That in mind, do not approach KYŌ001 expecting sawtooth synths and soaring arps. This inaugural commercial mix from Singapore's Club Kyō deals in slick and groovy Saturday night house music: bubbly basslines, warm melodies, a light and frothy overall tone. Add Oxia's tight, effective mixing to the equation and you have a perfectly pleasant set that progresses without any great drama or excitement. At times, it feels less like a peak-time mix than a warm-up DJ politely setting the mood. And the tracks that do disturb this smooth, undemanding 4/4 momentum—DJ Koze's "Nices Wölkchen" or Robag Wruhme's take on Moderat's "Bad Kingdom"—are hardly startling curveballs. Monumental as it is, in 2014, does anyone really need to hear Carl Craig's remix of Theo Parrish's "Falling Up"? The relatively fractured, more atmospheric last 20 minutes (highlights: the mirage-like harps on Guy Gerber's remix of Chaim, Frankey & Sandrino's plaintive synth-pop) are a teasing hint of what might have been, but it's too little, too late. Apparently, in a part of the world rapidly falling under the baleful influence of EDM, Club Kyō is an underground beacon of resistance. Good luck to them. But as a calling card, KYŌ001 is far from compelling.
  • Tracklist
      01. Pohl - Throw Up 02. Pablo Bolivar - I Would Try to Make This (Deep Vision) 03. DJ Koze - Nices Wlkchen (Robag’s Bronky Frumu Rehand) 04. Philip Bader and David Squillace - Free The Visa 05. Mihai Popoviciu - Time 06. Wade & Artslaves - Promiscuous 07. Nick Curly - Headcount 08. Sebo K - It's Alright 09. Matthias Tanzmann - Reframed 10. Oxia - Perception 11. Cristoph - Let Me Sleep 12. Huxley - Oil Spill 13. Moderat - Bad Kingdom (Robag Wruhme 44 Edit mit Xomlopp Rmx Schwanz) 14. Cuartero - Sweet In The Morning 15. Kiko & Spencer K - Rondo (Oxia Remix) 16. Mathias Schaffhauser - The Best Bad Idea (Nicolas Masseyeff Remix) 17. Chaim - Blue Shadow (Guy Gerber's Barkan Remix) 18. Ross Evans - Let it Go 19. Theo Parrish - Falling Up (Carl Craig Remix) 20. Sandrino & Frankey - Save
RA