- Frank Martiniq has a knack for giving his productions titles so effervescently descriptive, they’re almost onomatopoeic. Names like ‘Sugarpopp’, ‘Elastic Plastic’ and ‘Knickerbocker’ evoke a kind of '60s Populuxe faith in the synthetic, and with a Cologne sound pitched between the soda-pop house of Tresor softy Savaas Ysatis (whatever happened to him?) and The Modernist’s Cologne bounce, he’s an easy fellow to like.
As the name implies, ‘Chrome’ is a menacing, more mechanised cut than we’re used to, in line with heavy-hitting Boxer comrades Dusty Kid or Matzak. Random introductory geiger-counter grit is swiftly swept aside by a thudding kick and growling pads, all which mean business. Adopting a wonky three-to-the-bar tone pattern, the kind that’s becoming cliché with the likes of neo-trancers Michael Mayer, Paul Nazca and Oxia, ‘Chrome’ follows a similar trajectory, with big, crowd-pleasing motifs reigned in by careful programming and a desire for subtlety over cheap payoff – good stuff.
‘The Astropop Shop’ also does what it says, with sugar-coated tones and pixie-dust blips cloaking a similarly gushing chugger. It’s less dramatic, prettier, and more like his regular work. Both tracks clock in at exactly 9.43, like cookie-cutter versions of Mom’s choc-chips.
TracklistA Chrome
B The Astropopp Shop