Turbo celebrates the 10th anniversary of Gesaffelstein's seminal work on the Montreal-based imprint with a long-awaited repress of all three EPs: Variations, Conspiracy Pt. 1 (TURBO 099RE-EP), and Conspiracy Pt. 2 (TURBO 106RE-EP).
Every track on Variations is a battle-tested bomb. Gesaffelstein's sound is clearly influenced by new wave and the Gigolo-era electro (2001-2) of fellow Frenchmen The Hacker and David Carretta, but it sounds like a fresh update rather than pastiche, revitalized and refined down to a modern and versatile core. These tracks work in Tiga's festival sets alongside some of the summer's biggest anthems, yet are equally at home in a more underground setting, e.g. Von Party's 5am warm-up before Ivan Smagghe at a London warehouse party. The title track has the most attitude, establishing a palette of dark staccato basslines, crunching hi-hats, hands-in-the-air cowbells and trippy synth leads. "Selected Faces" and "Atmosphere" are arguably even more straightforward club weapons, their breakdowns creating just enough "insanity" without getting annoying, their grooves dropping back in with a cool, restrained power that will win over hiss-weary DJs.
A1 | Variations |
B1 | Selected Faces |
B2 | Atmosphere |