DJ Alex Corton – Good Looking Records

Good Looking Records 

Future Engineers – Technetium EP

2002

As the surrounding voids of complete desolation and suffocation compress upon the hurtling materials of this cargo, it’s the invisible connections which leave us the remnants of a broken world, carrying our homesick vessels into the age of the future in drum and bass. The question, like that of the small child in the back seat, is, “have we arrived yet?” Well, that’s for you to decipher. Music will always strive to connect us with memories and the present. Some music turns that into another dimension, straining out the pollution of unrequited existence and reaching the glimpses into the next era of sensory climax.  

    Future Engineers had not released a track on Good Looking until this EP. While they did release on Looking Good Records with the mind blowing ‘Timeshift’ in 1999 and then a few subsequent releases in 2002, it was also the work on 720 Degrees in 1999 that to me, fit their glove of ideas the best. Having their work in this series though was a stroke of brilliance, mainly because the label benefitted in including this style within its pasture of the organization. By 2002, Blame had taken his 720 hamper away from Good Looking, so Future Engineers were the connection now, between this futuristic, sci-fi sound and the label. Of all the Future Engineers’ work, this one hits the realms, casting revolutions of the orbits in the suburbs our universe. 

    Side C is switched to 33 RPM from the first disc which is 45 RPM. ‘Technetium’ is a really interesting track, containing those addictive and catchy acid enriched sounds and a beat that will completely throw you with its pattern. The bass wraps itself around the percussion, pulling up the cloak of disguise and peeling back the sleeve of circuitry, redirecting the flow of current and lighting up a hidden board of new wave information. The breakdown about 3/4 in is so fucking good too. The whole piece seems to eject and float out into this stillness of space-sea and time at this point, providing a surrounding of breathtaking universal imagery and auditory paradise. 

    ‘Vanishing Point’ on Side D, has this tiny white stickered circle on the centre hole. I don’t know if it’s due to a tiny off-center or not. Anyone else have one? The music on this side is probably one of my favorites on this EP. All the matter is taking any one of the billions of lines of perspective toward an unknown black hole, pulling in every molecule on a unique and perfectly balanced trajectory. In relation to its placement, the understanding of the perfect route into this unstoppable vacuum becomes less a straight line and more a spiraling convex of mathematical provocation, than a linear formula. Time practically reverses as you enter the dense and fracturing center. The rebirthing of a cosmic body, splits the possibilities of our own life and the species we are yet to comprehend. Where living is structured in a way we will never grasp. ‘Vanishing Point’ walks you through the gallery of gaping soundscapes while the Future Engineers tonic, forever whirls within the space of our lifetime. 

     This EP really deserves so many props in its quest to spin that tilted accent to the music of this time. It’s an EP that to me, stretched the boundaries much like Blame. Lee and Kier managed to combine that experimental tool box with the foundations of their sound to bridge a spatially expansive story from the drum and bass world, into a reel of epic story telling, through their composing. 

   A big respects to both Lee and Kier. Keep pushing those sounds and I look forward to hearing your next installment from the Transference stable. I hope these words project just how good these tracks are. Big up! 

   My blog is building, with the Good Looking Records reviews. It’s included here, so I hope you have an opportunity to scroll through to some of your favorite releases on Good Looking Records, and reminisce on the love of this music. More to follow!