Plankton Man vs.Terrestre
Plankton Man vs. Terrestre
:run recordings
Well, it’s Terrestre by a nose, but this split CD featuring two former members of Tijuana’s famed Nortec Collective shows that these two techno artists are both pretty much on the same wavelength. They favor the Nortec trademark of creating electronic dance music with old norteno samples layered in (tuba blurts, mariachi guitarron strums, sinaolense drum rolls), and it sounds great, from Plankton Man’s “Gran Chapparal” and “Palomar” to Terrestre’s “Lazer Metrayeta” and (song title of the year) “Rancho Tron.”
One problem: this stuff could all have been included on Nortec’s Tijuana Sessions Vol. 1 from last year – there’s not a lick here or a cowbell loop that sounds like any kind of bold leap forward. If you don’t mind that, then this is your disc all the way: you’ll be shaking your culo to “Eita-leitale” by Terrestre and chilling out to PM’s “California 70” all autumn. But you don’t need this if you already own the Nortec disc and you only have enough $$ for one such album.
Second problem: by alternating their cuts, it’s really hard to tell these artists’ styles apart. Again, not a big deal, but that’s just if you care.
Third problem: this is really only 50 minutes’ worth of new stuff, with another 28 minutes of “extended” cuts and remixes. But that’s still almost 79 minutes of beautiful and funky Tijuanan techno. I call that a bargain, the best you’ll ever have.
(Note: You MUST visit the label’s Web site. It’s cool as hell.)
:run recordings: http://www.runrecordings.com
