Paul who? Edge. His name may not be top of mind among most techno aficionados, but he’s not what we would call a newbie in the global techno scene. In fact, the voracious blogger and anti-war activist used to promote and helm one of Ireland’s longest running club night (The Outer Limits), and has DJ’d extensively throughout the world. In 2008, Paul made a cameo appearance on the number 1 TV show in the world, "CSI-Las Vegas, episode 9.04, Let It Bleed" , where his music was also featured. After a 2 year hiatus from DJing to focus on production, Paul has now returned to the toys of noise to promote the 23 album that has already been receiving strong support from renowned DJs across the planet.
The album: 23 contains the type of techno that artists such as Dave Clarke, DJ Rush and Joey Beltram frequently pull out of their bags: loud, monotone, and rattling techno movers decorated with filthy industrial fx and an overall vibe of impending apocalyptica. The album as a whole has been programmed and mixed as a live set, which ensures a constant peaks of energy, dynamics and violent rhythms. No need to start off subtle. Paul Edge’s roaring Zombie Nation-style remix of Plastikman’s Ask Yourself immediately sets the tone for this album’s direction, after which things get even rougher and tougher on tracks such as the chaotic Liquidity, Banshee (watch out for the killer breakdown on this one), and the thunderous 45000 Mhz. The repetitive nature of the album’s content is exploited to its full potential by the inventive mixing and, although this may not become noticeable at first, the smart track positioning.
Our verdict: 23 has become a compelling piece of (hard-)techno that will most likely cater most to those who dig, here we go again, Dave Clarke and DJ Rush’ merciless grooves. Riddled with electro buzzes and powerful breakdowns and climaxes, this album is obviously constructed according to the laws of venue destruction and compulsive head banging. It won’t be every tech heads cup of tea, but for those of you with a penchant for the louder side of things this one is a recommendation.
Stand out tracks: Ask yourself, Banshee, 45000 Mhz Weak moments: not really.
Rating: 7.7/10 Label: PDM Release date: April 23rd, 2011
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