Slam - Cacophony EP

Written by Manu Ekanayake

techno -

If you call yourself a techno fan, then you already know about Slam... but if you’re new to the game, suffice it to say that the Glasgow’s Orde Meikle and Stuart McMillan – aka the Slam boys – are up there with the best, two originals in a game full of pretenders.  And Cacophony sees them firmly in the mood to thrap it out, as befits an ep on Adam Beyer’s Drumcode label.

 

Cacophony itself is a pretty straight down the line banger: Kick-drum? Check. Storming FX? Check.  Good sense of momentum, building, sinking then building again? Check. Still, it’s the kind of thing everyone from Billy Nasty to Robert Hood will play, even if it is more of a DJ tool than something that’s re-inventing the wheel. It’s hard to not expect more of Slam though.

Souvenir is a bit more like it, some nice percussion here adds a slice of melody that’s always welcome, even in the heaviest techno set.  Good to hear a vibraphone on the case too – it worked for Mirror Dance, didn’t it?

Finally, The Strip is a bit lighter, a bit more like the Slam you might remember from Alien Radio. An altogether warmer taste of something you could play on a few different kinds of dancefloor, stick this on when the party’s just getting going... so pumping tech indeed, just with a bit of feeling. Very nice.