It has been twenty four years since Monolake‘s minimal dub techno masterpiece Gravity received its first release and now courtesy of Field Records, it is finally available on vinyl. Revisited by prime mover Robert Henke, it wears its age well and in an age of glitchy, post techno electronica can take its place as a progenitor of the form.
Running to over an hour and spread over eight tracks, Henke allows the repetitive nature of the techno-oriented beats to run without boundaries, but the electronic details and evocative atmospheres are what make the album something which piques the curiosity. Opening track “Mobile” gives the impression of a creaking boat far from home, but the subtle heartbeat lifts us away.
Electronics squelch and squirm as synth lines bounce and hop, reminding us that this is music of endless movement but with a cool European sheen that embraces the future. There is a nice combination of the rhythmic and the abstract which means that no two passages are ever the same and the constant evolution through the album feels like a journey, one that takes us on well-inflated tyres over smooth backlit roads.There is tension in the percussive details, highlighting the ease of the beat; but like a well-considered mix, there is an evolution of the beat as the album progresses. It works well on the dancefloor in an elegant way, with a clean sound that hypnotises; but “Frost” finds the beat turning darker and more industrial, with greater reverberation clanging like the bars of a prison cell.
Although not as extreme as some reggae productions, the dub element in Monolake’s sound is unmistakable. Echoes roll and shudder across the simple beat in “Static” and this time we are sequestered in an underground bunker, thousands of people below the city moving in unison. The ability to change the atmosphere with each tracks makes us feel as though we have been granted access to a succession of different clubs, each one a new room in a new city with a fresh sound and a unique layout; all that is left for us is to be consumed by the music. With “Zero Gravity”, the beat is removed to mere specks of light and the unexpected xylophone sounds give a new enigmatic air.This time the beats are knocking on doors in abandoned buildings, while the enormous “Fragile” is accompanied by a cool drone like the air extraction on a ship as gulls wheel over head. You feel that the three elements; the beats, the glitchy atmospherics and the enveloping drone would work pretty well separately, but put together along with the cavernous echo and seemingly acres of space makes for a hugely immersive experience.
We are dropped into the jungle for “Aviation” where the rhythms are more humid, but things take a turn for the unexpected on closer “Nucleus”; here we are airlifted by helicopter away from a battlefield while slipping in and out of consciousness. It is the most dreamlike and untethered of the pieces and is an extraordinary way to end the album.You wouldn’t think Gravity had been constructed at the turn of the millennium and I am sure that this review is preaching to a lot of the converted; but if you are unfamiliar with Monolake, this is a great place to start and on double vinyl, this is the way it should be experienced.
-Mr Olivetti-
