- Midway through Prosumer's fabric 79 mix from 2014, the atmosphere takes a sharp left turn. What was a summery scene suddenly descends into a pit of eerie electro (I-F) and grainy techno (Shinoby). The spell is brief—two tracks later we're in the breezier grips of Domu's "Something Borrowed"—but it's possibly the mix's most memorable moment. I found myself particularly drawn to Shinoby's "There Are No Rules, Fear Is Unknown And Sleep Is Out Of The Question" for its adventurous composition. It was lifted from the Italian producer's then-unreleased Club Shock EP, which launched his own ISTHEWAY Records earlier this year. It was an impressive debut, and the follow-up, Sensory Depravation Tank, has just as much going for it.
The title cut is an idiosyncratic and distorted bit of hardware techno. The first 90 seconds are rough and blurry, with off-kilter kicks and sawtoothed stabs, before the tempo rapidly slows to a sludgy snail-pace. With a minute to go, the beats regain speed and the track ends up back where it began. If that sounds weird, it's nothing on Madteo's remix. This 13-minute sprawl is an experimental tapestry of warped bass notes, analog fuzz and samples from the New York subway. Drums, a bassline and some highs enter during the record's mid section, but they never hit hard enough to leave a lasting impression.
Shinoby's other original cut, "T.S.G," couldn't be more different. It's short, fast and thumping, strapping wicked synths to a frantic bed of kicks, claps and blood-curdling soundbites. Were it not for Samo DJ + Tzusing's remix, it'd be the best track here. The Swedish/Chinese pair take a more sedate approach, crafting a depraved tech-funk roller from a mean bassline, horror-movie strings and the same eerily poetic spoken sample.
TracklistA1 Shinoby - Sensory Deprivation Tank
A2 Shinoby - T.S.G.
A3 Shinoby - T.S.G. (Samo DJ & Tzusing Remix)
B1 Shinoby - Sensory Deprivation Tank feat. The Underground Padova Taximeter Gang (Madteo's De-Sui-Ipsius-Ac-Multorum-Ignorantia Remix)