Barcelona Techno MP3 EP

The third and latest release from the “minus n” netlabel is as notable for how it’s presented as for how it sounds. A vaguely poppy riff on minimal techno, Lod‘s Taskenti EP is four tracks of metrically succinct music composed of sodden beats, albeit with intriguingly hesitant melodic aspirations. The song “Clokio,” for example, introduces a synthesized mallet melody. While that melody, frilly at a whopping three notes, stands out like a candy raver at a Steve Reich recital, what’s interesting is less the riff itself than the extended fade on the final note, as it bleeds back into the whole. The netlabel deserves particular praise for including along with the four tracks an interview with Lod, aka Luis Ortiz, who is based out of Barcelona. It’s not a lengthy back and forth, but there’s enough space to touch on the album’s title (a kind of vegetation, appropriately), his basic tools (“i mainly work with a computer although i add some synths, and i also use some analog guitar filters and a compressor”), and his other projects, including two online labels he runs: klitekture.com and sinergy-networks.com. Check it out at minusn.com.