Album: Alex Under – La Maquína de Bolas

Alex Under
La Maquína de Bolas
Soma Records
3 stars

Minimal Techno is often unfairly maligned in comparison to other styles of dance music but its influence on the electronic music of the past decade is remarkable. Dubstep DJs, such as Loefah, frequently drop minimal beats into their sets and artists like Nicholas Jaar are becoming popular enough to sell out venues such as Fabric and Manchester’s own Sound Control. Alex Under’s new album is unlikely to have the the crossover appeal of Jaar’s debut, Space Is Only Noise, but the Spanish techno prodigy makes a powerful argument for his genre, demonstrating an admirable ability to innovate within its narrow confines. Whereas minimal stalwarts like Richie Hawtin ground their music in harsh industrial sounds which only seem to make sense when being blasted at ear splitting volume in a sweaty Berlin superclub, Under favours a more organic approach, using tabla drums and bell chimes to craft a delicate sound that is far more listenable and carefully drawn.

Under’s decision to name all of the tracks ‘bola’ (spanish for ‘ball’) demonstrates his intention for the album to be considered as a whole and it is certainly more effective when heard in this way, with many tracks referencing each other rhythmically, such as Bolas 3 and 4. This degree of complexity is impressive, but the album is undoubtedly a difficult listen, particularly as the ominous Bola 1 is utterly bereft of the woozy sub-basslines and compelling melodies to come.

Yet perseverance is rewarded. The rattling spartan grooves which many of the tracks are built around may be initially unappealing but they acquire a kind of strange beauty after several listens, whether its in the flickering synth lines on Bola 2 which sound like rainfall or the haunting, skeletal steel drums of Bola 6.2.

Alex Under – El Encuentro