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Mike Shannon – Memory Tree Review

Monday, September 15th, 2008 | Album Review, Music | No Comments

Mike Shannon marks his ten years in techno with his third EP release on Plus 8. Plus 8 themselves haven’t really been releasing too much of late, but when they do the quality is usually high and different to its younger sister label Minus.

On this release Shannon revolves the LP around a central style of warped alien like melodies and effects with plenty of mechanical/robotic beats and noises all layered in a classic Detroit futurism way.

Enero the third track on the LP uses a wobbly echoed alien like melody which rides over the top of layered soft pads, creating a dreamy disjointed outer space atmosphere. Love Fry soon follows with a more sinister feel. A distorted organ riff runs through cycles of builds and drops in intensity over skipping beats and interludes of airy synth stabs. Again there is a dreamy nature to the track but this time edging towards a sinister nightmare.

On Uno Para el Sol a different tact is taken. Syncopated jazz percussion and improve electric organ skits drift over a wash of well layered string pads. Its light with a hint of funk and quite different to the other tracks on the LP. On the other hand Closed Question runs with a squelching static background and heavy kick drums whilst a number of pads and synths intertwine keeping the alien theme running.

The final track, Japanese Censorship finishes the album on a bang. A big muffled acid bassline wriggles about in a foray of clean techno percussion, providing the album a full on filthy track for the clubs.

There are some great tracks on here, which are very well produced and with great depth in layers. As a whole I wished Mike Shannon would have ventured further from his central theme like on Uno Para El Sol. Instead when listening to the whole LP, some of the tracks lose their identity. That aside Love Fry, Uno Para El Sol and Japanese Censorship are great tracks.

Tags: Memory Seed, Memory Tree, Mike Shannon, Minus, Plus 8

Mike Shannon – Memory Seed EP Review

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 | Single Review | No Comments

Mike Shannon marks his decade of active service with the release of Memory Seed on Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 label. The full LP is forthcoming, but this little EP gives you a little taster of what’s to come. The EP starts with Mercury Mile a twisted electronic workout. Its long beatless intro slowly builds amidst a wash of static noise, warbling bass and twisted synths before slipping into a shuffling beat of tinkering percussion. In contrast the X Flex mix of Dr. Flex skips along with an elastic beat and bass, keeping few elements involved. This makes the track simple yet quite effective. Each element makes an impact on their individual introductions which creates a hypnotic robotic vibe.

The final track on this release is The Love Fry which comes in two flavours. Both versions work around an electric organ riff which phases in and out in a Doppler effect manner, increasing in intensity before the pressure value equalises the track back to the skipping beat. The original flourishes into some summer vibe synth riff whilst the Raw mix does without keeping to the original organ elements.

A varied and interesting release from Mike Shannon showing the various shades from his forthcoming LP. Love Fry is definitely our pick on this one. Its twisted and warped organ synth is sure to play havoc with the altered minds on a dancefloor.

Mike Shannon – Memory Seed is out now on Beatport

Tags: Memory Seed, Mercury Mile, Mike Shannon, Minimal, Minus, Plus 8, techno, The Love Fry