Aphelion - Zugzwang
(DeFocus)
The four UK producers operating behind the Aphelion moniker temper their deep devotion to Detroit techno with equally high regard
for the classic space-music strains of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. Accordingly, Zugzwang combines lushly layered
synthscapes with polished programming, bringing together past, present, and future. While this formula was popular at the peak of
the chill-out movement, giving birth to such "ambient techno" touchstones as Global Communication's 76:14 and the Irresistible
Force's Flying High, albums like Zugzwang are becoming a rarity in these days of queasy-listening digitalia. The sonic sunrise of
"Bound" and the pulse-quickening cascades of "Arrest" (Aphelion's first recording) evoke a golden age when the lines between
Detroit and London were traveled frequently, with ideas exchanged freely between techno's old guard and its new breed. "Doxology"
and "We" sound a bit more current, driven by the restless breakbeat rhythm-craft of prime Black Dog Productions, while
"Movements" and "Syd" draw from the latter-day soul-jazz influxions of Kirk Degiorgio's Applied Rhythmic Technologies
pantheon. Though warm nostalgia is the prevailing tone throughout the album, Aphelion strikes a number of original notes. "Lucier"
waxes beatless in Phaedra-era TD fashion, but its clean lines ring with digital overtones. "Deep Adj" plays at soundtrack
storytelling. And "Zugzwang" itself strings intertwined melodies with jewel-like electro blips and bleeps, attaining a sound that
has its signifiers (Kraftwerk, LFO) yet comes across as fresh and inspired.
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