Platzhirsch Ltd 12

As the music industry continually progresses down the road towards the ultimate digitization, there will ever be those few within it who, despite convention, continue to swim upstream. Thankfully, those of a like mind will bump into one another while fighting against this rising flood of 1s and 0s. Their struggle is towards the purity and the soul of this music which we love; particularly, with techno, the holy grail is the magic word, "Analogue". Thus, it is no surprise that Cologne's Tobias Becker and Heidelberg's Stefan Eichinger (aka LOPAZZ) have ended up in the studio together - 100% analog - input-to-output. Immediately upon pressing "Play"; warmth, so painfully lacking within the techno industry at the moment, pushes through the recording in a way that is simply not possible through the Ableton mixbuss. "Willelos" is exactly what it sets out to be; a tool with claps that whip you right on the ass - composed and mixed live on the mixing board with no automation. On the flip, "Techno Kralle" is a prime example of a real hands-on mixdown - further evidence that long sessions and many passes yield unexpected results which can never be recreated. The track's peak is exemplary of old-school techno, a mind-blowingly refreshing change from the current trend of "Robinson-Club-Family-House-Music".