The Coming Post-Electro Era, Exploited Records Points The Way Forward

Sorry for the delay fans, — “What fans,” I hear two random people in a phone booth in Concord ask — I’ve been suffering a block once again. But not a total block, more of a temporary impasse, the type of impasse I have when I deal with rock music — especially classic stuff — for a minute and then I feel the gravitational pull of electronic music again. I have the capacity to deal with both as there are no musical borders in my mind, but finding new electronic stuff that compares with my rock of ages is a tricky thing to do.

“So why not write about classic electronic music,” I hear you caringly ask. Well there are enough sites already doing that and though I enjoy reading them a great deal I don’t need to do what they’re doing, and furthermore I like being random with music. I’ve liked so many different genres in my life so far that I don’t want to dedicate myself to one or two types to be honest.

So to pull myself out of the hole of not being able to write about electronic music again I picked up on a German imprint called Exploited. The first record I bought on the label was the Allthegirls EP by Siriusmo back in early 2008, and I got use out of three or four tracks on there, especially the tunes “Femuscle” and Mode Selektor’s edit of “Wow,” a glitchy, dirty downtempo number that I’m sure found favor with the burner crew in SF, and on other scenes too.

The captivating thing about Exploited is that it is definitely pointing itself in the direction of the electro scene, a la Ed Banger, Crookers et al., but it also has an eye on other electronic styles and is in some ways directing us towards the post-electro era, when the genre gets over its youthful, exclusive phase and starts to fuse with other genres. Exploited’s newest release, “Motor Cortex” EP by Lorenz Rhode, is an indication that this is a likely outcome. It’s a six track affair in its vinyl version and a nine tracker in digital form.

There’s no doubt that it’s a little gem in either format simply because it touches on so many genres; from italo and electro to minimal techno, house and downtempo, glitchy bidness. Minimow & Solo’s remix is a minimal techno at its best in that it still retains a sense of fun and isn’t just another chin strokers’ delight. Ben Mono’s house mix of the same tune is another keeper and a sure way to keep the floor heavin and the hands in the air — nice fun use of a Gwen Guthrie sample too.

Add to this the original and its instrumental, a blinding fusion of electro, italo and boogie, with enough balls to get the party jumpin;’ the searing neo-Italo of “Tronic Matic,” the short but very sweet downtempo electro-funk of “A Little Something” and the chunky Italo of “Antidote — with it’s naggingly familiar bass line, and a keyboard melody that slyly hints at Kraftwerk’s “Hall Of Mirrors.” Clump all this noise together and you have a record that will never leave your box, or files that will never be deleted from your hard drive.

Scoop it on sight, it’s a doozy, and keep an eye on Exploited, as it moves electro out of its infancy and brings the fun back to all the other genres it touches on. It's much needed breath of fresh air and melody in a dance music scene numbed by banging electro, polite house and discordant minimal tech.

Orr