Instra:mental – Resolution 653

Resolution 653 somehow manages to represent the sounds and experiences of 20 odd years of electronica, techno and electro. And it’s all the more lovely for it.

These references start early on: if one were to replace the refrain of “Overdose” on second track ‘User’ with the word “Humanoid” the Stakker similarities would be laid bare. Memories of adopting the recovery position in a field in Wiltshire (more likely than a Mediterranean beach) to witness a hazy sunrise come flooding back on ‘Waterfalls’, but these recollections are soon eclipsed as the sweat-fest and 303s of ‘Aggro Acid’ remind you of the exertions of the night before…and why you’ve ended up in such a bloody mess.

To add to the list there’s the Chicago booty-jerk funk of ‘8’; the sub-aquatic pulsations of ‘Arc’; the alien skank of ‘Rift Zone’; and a few tracks of IDM abstractions that could’ve easily found their way on to Warp’s Artificial Intelligence compilations. Then there’s ‘Thomp’ which sounds like something Dave Clarke would never take out of his record box, and the missed beat excursions of ‘Talkin’ Moro’ which point toward the future of bass and technology.

With so many hints, asides and citations to so many styles and sub-genres this album could easily become over-didactic and slide into pastiche. Yet no homework is needed and there is no need to adopt a wry smile to enjoy the pleasures of Resolution 653. Obtain it here.

Aggro Acid

And here’s a series of clips across the whole thing:

angrybonbon