Album Review: This is Techno Jazz Vol 2

This double album is a deep dive into Jazz-o-Tech carefully nurtured sound. What unites the label and its broad array of artists is a desire to fuse the traditional improvisation of jazz with the avant-garde experimentalism of techno. Over the last couple of years, it has done that to critical acclaim with a series of innovative EPs and LPs from artists all over Europe that cooked up fresh new sounds that push the boundaries of electronic and acoustic music further than ever.

For each track, we put together jazz musicians and techno producers and asked them to freely express their vision of what techno-jazz should be. Our poly-centric musical identity speaks of many possible futures in a multitude of individual dimensions, unified by an ambitious artistic effort to write a new chapter in music. The result is an innovative musical language that aims to provide a new sonic vocabulary for jazz and avant-garde electronic. We really hope you like it as much as we do!”

Check out the opener here:

Finnish duo Aki Himanen and Aleksi Kinnunen kick things off just as their new album A Thing with Feathers is about to drop. Their ‘Valediction’ is led by melancholic trumpets and hypnotic drums, while Reeko, Katharina Ernst and Leonie Freudenberger combine to create dark, heavily percussive rhythms and eerie synths on ‘Snake Spirit.’ Flat Maze pairs glitchy techno with edgy piano chords and Supercore keeps up the pressure with clattering drums overlaid with a snake charmer-like sax line. After Lyder’s soothing and suspensory ‘Sea of Thought’ with its gorgeous wind sounds and soulful vocals, techno legend Sunil Sharp remixes his collaboration with experimental label regulars TUN into a frenzied mix of free-jazz motifs and industrial rhythms.

3rd cut on the double vinyl . Flat Maze – Golden cat

Stanislav Tolkachev comes together with Aki Himanen & Aleksi Kinnunen for more detuned, unhinged synth madness, Bodek Janke & Studnitzky reset the mood with a calm yet menacing fusion of ambient synths, prickly rhythms and fluttering wind sounds, then Fabrizio Rat remixes his work with Bada-Bada into a pounding techno groove with mysterious jazz melodies. A Dinamite remix brings textured broken beat techno to the fore, Morgen Wurde & Tis keep it deeply dark and atmospheric on their cut with Tetsuroh Konishi and Sliver Galaxy then races off into the cosmos on high energy and uplifting jazz-techno rhythm. Finally, Bada-Bada releases the tension with a celebratory sound before Key Clef and Luigi Ranghino’s ‘Piano Movimento 2’ closes down in gorgeous neo-classical fashion.

This collection once again proves that jazz and techno belong together as it takes you on a rollercoaster ride through many fascinating fusions. 

Verdict: Different elements from the Techno genre fused with jazz, creating a collection of strong tracks that go from sublime mellow to rolling hard darkness. The combination of the two never clash here producing a masterful blend of machine and musician. Each artist brings a unique take to the project producing a double vinyl of delights, a solid addition to this hopefully on going series.

Track List

OUT NOW: @ This is Techno Jazz vol 2 | Various Artists | Jazz-o-Tech (bandcamp.com)