Blueprint techno / Basic house: Sensate Focus 10

Intricate house patterns.

However many tracks this release actually consists of is questionable but not really relevant; the listening experience as seamless as any I've heard. Despite multiple and often abrupt changes to the tempo and structure of the track(s) this could be broken down in many different ways. There is a such a spatial awareness involved in its creation, the sounds fit together seamlessly, beats changing tempo and washes of background colour meld in the mix as it morphs, passing a series of distinct points. The result is a hypnotic epic which changes on repeat listens as you are drawn to different minutiae of the overall sound. Elements seemingly move in all directions, like eddies in a flowing stream, never losing the overall direction but never expressing the streamlined consistency of traditional house.

It might sound about as uplifting as the iTunes visualiser, but this is club music, though destined for only select dance floors it takes all its elements from classic house sounds. As Peter Rehberg of Editions Mego puts it:

" ..liked the keyboard sounds from early House music, but had got bored of the rhythms. We did not want to throw the baby away with the bathwater, so decided to keep some things. So we kept the water and threw the baby away. "

And the name. Sensate Focus clearly chosen as the focal descriptor here, despite the big name - Mark Fell - there is no indication of an artist and tracks remain untitled in plain white sleeve. This really works; this is all the pleasure of house music without the feeling of an inevitable climax. Instead it deals with pleasure points and works from nothing (no artwork, no title) to frame a new take on the genre. The reference to joining points echoed in the inclusion of a pencil (?) though let's be honest, this is an unnecessary but slightly humerus inclusion.

The whole label seems to be making the statement: This is a blank sheet. Taking house music back to nothing and constructing something from the parts that we already have, but with none of the constraints of an archetype. This definitely requires a degree of intrigue from the listener, but it builds everything from there on in, rewarding curiosity and a little patience.

What comes next will be interesting, whether this label is to be home to a family of well-established names as an outlet for a specific type of new house music, or something a little more unpredictable is unsure. For me, the way this music works to a new set of rules using the same components is the most intriguing aspect, everything else seems to have been left to one side for the time being.