Cosmin TRG completes his transformation from dubstep outsider to 21st century techno superhero with this superb debut album on Modeselektor's 50 Weapons label. 'Simulat' nicely balances booming floor-fillers with more oblique, abstracted cuts, but without ever lapsing into that "I'm diverse me, I'm gonna take you on a journey" tokenism that so commonly plagues house/techno LPs. Yeah, if it's bangers you're after then you won't be disappointed: check the clipped UKF syncopations and dubby warehouse vamps of 'Form Over Function' (like Chain Reaction for the Rinse generation), the synthed-out gallop of 'Ritmat' and 'Fizic', or the crafty, sub-heavy house of 'Star Motel' and snappy, Gemini-esque tech-funk of 'Lillasyster'. For us the most impressive tracks are the explorations of scuffed rhythm mechanics that recall Anthony Shakir and Shed, like elegantly bruk opener `Amor Y Otros' and the masterful 'Osu Xen'. Simulat is pretty damned ravishing from start to finish, and techno full-lenghts frankly don't get much better.
