GUY GERBER - Late Bloomers

Is the wave of techno-dub-minimal and its dancefloor crowd definitively over? Looking at the noticeable drop in releases of this kind, we could say it's not over yet, but it's on its way out. Or rather, what's left are those who've been at it for ages - the likes of Hawtin, Magda, Tejada, Holden (who knows where he ended up) and the earliest followers. The fact that there's been no Trentemoller for a few weeks is already a strong signal! Confirming the trend, “Late Bloomers” is a techno record, nothing less and, if anything, quite a bit more, both because it doesn't shy away from echoes of the good old days, and because Gerber's class - so far proven only through 12"s and live sets - is here shown to be the real deal.

First of all, it's reassuring that the most typically “repetitive” genre has rediscovered its melodic vein; these certainly aren't anthems à-la Scooter's “Hyper! Hyper!”, but rather solutions that draw as much on the fine world of Detroit as on German electro environments - no surprise, given that the man releases on Cocoon. A bit old school? Maybe so, but there's a freshness to it that's entirely down to the artist.

The opener, “State Of Change”, welcomes us into the album with a crescendo of strings and a hefty kick drum. And right there lies the spirit that governs the whole record: the rediscovery of an obsessive, front-and-center beat, not hidden behind glitchy tricks or abstract pretensions, but rather that very brazenness one expects from techno.

Those who thought they'd already heard the best of Gerber with “Belly Dancing” and “Sea Of Sand” - genuine hits of the past year on dancefloors across half the world - will have plenty to cheer about with the bassline running through “Are U Naked”, the electro rhythm already angling for summer 2007 Ibiza status, and the inevitable trancey turnaround to add that touch of acid that never hurts. Or with “Unfulfilled”, which borrows the riff from “Another One Bites The Dust” and spins it into a melancholic electro wash, with digital sea-shores humming along as a refrain...

But let's not waste time going track by track, because besides the aforementioned “Belly Dancing” - here in a different version from its respective EP, more incisive - there's also “Sea Of Sand”.

"Sea Of Sand" deserves, and will probably earn, a small place in techno's hall of fame. The song's apparent simplicity and its ability to engage with melody, opening up into a groove that's as light as it is malevolent in the way it burrows into your brain, borders on the miraculous. This is probably exactly what one asks of techno of this pedigree: able to get people dancing without relying on mere rhythmic impulse, instead following a path that comes from much further afield, from the world of Detroit and from Manuel Göttsching, passing through a decade as fertile for electronic music as the Nineties. "Sea Of Sand" stands right at the centre of it all, something like a creative climax.

Gerber, from Tel Aviv, skilfully shows off his gift for quotation, blended with the underground attitude that has moved millions of people in recent months with his 12-inches: so from the stretched-out Altern 8 of "Moody Samba", through the French touches of "Seagull", all the way to the Border Community echoes of "2 Birds One Stoned" and the Underground Resistance-flavoured closer, it's a great listen.

Thankfully, this isn't revivalism: it's more a case of "learn the craft, then set it aside", with Guy having made every one of these influences his own, blending them in his own way. The result is convincing, full of class and rhythm. In short: techno.

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26/06/2007