At almost 25 years in the game as Adam X, New York based producer Adam Mitchell has witnessed techno’s evolution in sound develop over the past two decades at an incomparable rate. The release of his album ‘Irreformable‘ is like hearing a living legend in action again, a late career masterpiece, an album recommended for heavy rotation.
We have a classic 90s set-up: nine pieces follow each other with a bit of arranged artistry. ‘Interchanges‘ and ‘Catenary‘ are invitations to the world of Adam X by generating a perfect industrialised atmosphere of tricky beats, samples of speeches and scientific electronica. What follows is the real deal: four perfect bangers, which might even exceed the Traversable Wormhole catalogue as well.
The heavy, masculine bass in ‘On The Verge Of Decimation‘ is a killer on its own, yet the rising tension and a short, lustre melody bring a climax around the 5th minute. ‘Sheer Insanity‘, as the title implies, is the obfuscated moment: a slow pulse overshadows a fast beat, and around halfway Mitchell whispers like a maniac, totally mind fucking the experience. Next comes the title track, which is a bit military but also functions as a statement at the same time.
The rest of the album contains some experimentation. ‘In A Race Against Time‘ has an impressive breakbeat, however the electro elements are way more stressful. ‘Tornado Warning‘ is a slow piece, its radio messages and distorted environment remind me of the concept of artificial weather.
It’s hard to not like Irreformable: by exiling fillers Adam X achieves his greatest piece over the past of couple of years. No boring tracks here. And, as techno music is not a young genre anymore (I guess we can say that now, as it’s in its thirties), hearing big time albums from father figures of techno is going to be a big thing, with hopefully more artists to follow.
Sonic Groove will release Irreformable on 21st October 2014, order a vinyl copy of the album at Juno.
Discover more about Adam X and Sonic Groove on Inverted Audio.