Let’s be honest, the heyday of techno is behind us. Surely it is only the through of the wave and there’s still plenty of “underground” material here to compete, give new momentum and potentially lead the revolt to completion. When counting the number of acts that work on throwing off the yoke of lazy, unimaginative 4/4 tropes that plague a good lot of the techno-stamped efforts, the name of Russian producer Pavel Milyakov aka Buttechno obviously comes to mind.
Perfectly aware of that, the French team of Collapsing Market invited the Muscovite up-and-comer to record a spanking three-tracker interlocking iconoclastic big-room burners and more delicately textured ambient-ish incursions.
"Milyakov carries on pushing in the right direction, stilly cementing his reputation as one of the few potential game-changers"
The opening track stands as the most conventional cut here but interestingly enough, it also feels like the incipit offers a perfect breach for the whole EP to rush into. Engulfing everything in a sweep like a miry plughole, its backbone is clear-cut and incisive, quite predictable as well, but its driving build-up slowly falters and quivers as laser shots flash by, like a first symptom of the tempest rising. This is where the real fun begins.
‘B1‘ is the only real melody-driven cut of the pack – an arpeggiated line of high-pitched synth notes merging from a sleek, muffled background layer and then vanishing into a froth of white noise under the assaults of a fiery herd of breakbeat drums, sustained rimshots and sooty claps, repeatedly slashing its surface as the rhythm revs up. An irresistible slab of bouncy lo-fi tech breaking like a deadeye rogue twirl.
Drawing the blinds, ‘B2‘ descends into leftfield realms with equal conviction, delivering an appeased yet slightly more anxiety-inducing deflection. A few bleeps and bloops drip like stalactites, a dubbed-out bass line flutters and echoes in endless tunnels. The track feels strangely warm and cold, easy to relax to despite the malevolent vibe lingering. With this tense, deftly-maneuvered instalment, Milyakov carries on pushing in the right direction, stilly cementing his reputation as one of the few potential game-changers.
7 is out now, order a vinyl copy from the label’s website.
TRACKLIST
A1 Untitled
B1 Untitled
B2 Untitled
Discover more about Buttechno and Collapsing Market on Inverted Audio.