It may not be immediately apparent from the latter-day rhythmical mazes of Squarepusher, Autechre, Aphex Twin, et al., but the futuristic classicism of Detroit techno was one of the key inspirations for IDM as the genre emerged from the wobbly shadows of the rave era. B12, aka British production duo Mike Golding and Steve Rutter, were probably the best example of Detroit’s influence on IDM. The pair were inspired by Detroit originators Juan Atkins and Derrick May and early releases on their B12 label displayed a huge debt to the steel-brazed melodies that emanated from the Motor City in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
In 2017, such an approach would probably consign B12 to a life on the techno circuit. But in Britain during the early ’90s, when electronic music had yet to be ushered into sharp stylistic lines, Golding and Rutter found unlikely bedfellows in Aphex Twin, whose Rephlex label included two of their tracks on its 1992 compilation The Philosophy Of Sound And Machine, and Sheffield bleep techno dons Warp Records, which put “Telefone 529” and “Preminition” on its seminal Artificial Intelligence compilation, an album that would birth the idea of electronic listening music and eventually IDM. Golding and Rutter subsequently signed to Warp and in 1993 the label released Electro-Soma, one of a series of artist albums under the Artificial Intelligence name that helped to define the IDM sound.
Electro-Soma, which is being reissued alongside the new Electro-Soma II compilation, may not have the same historical legacy as Artificial Intelligence releases from Autechre and Aphex Twin but it remains a fearsomely beautiful work of electronic head music. Some 24 years on, the 10 tracks here—a mixture of personal favorites picked by late Warp Records founder Rob Mitchell from early B12 releases and new work made specifically for the project—feel wonderfully timeless, sitting somewhere between the classically inclined melodies of Kraftwerk, LFO’s cold Northern English bleeps, and Derrick May’s artful techno with just a hint of rave theatrics (see the dramatic opening chords and acid lead of “Metropolis”). Album opener “Soundtrack Of Space,” for example, could fit comfortably onto Kraftwerk’s 1978 long player The Man-Machine, second wave Detroit techno producer Carl Craig’s 1995 album Landcruising, or the 2017 roster of Nina Kraviz’s трип label.
Electro-Soma may not have sounded as shockingly new as other Artificial Intelligence releases but it more than makes up for this thanks to B12’s brilliant melodic instincts and inclination for clarity. “Basic Emotion” has a gloriously atmospheric melody that shines like a bright winter’s day; “Hall of Mirrors” takes Derrick May’s jazzy synth inclinations into lingering astral orbit and “Obsessed” uses a whispered hook and steely LFO-esque chords to devastating pop effect. The result is an album that fulfills Warp’s vision of electronic listening music by fitting in enough hooks, detail, and structure to delight the armchair fan. It’s flab-free too, making its point over ten tracks and 55 glorious minutes on the original vinyl release (which this re-release copies).
Such conciseness, while very welcome in the world of sagging electronic music albums, makes Electro-Soma II a harder sell. The new compilation collects a dozen B12 tracks from the Electro-Soma era and is intended to give further insight into one of Warp’s more elusive artists. That’s all very well in theory but for the newcomer, there is little here that wasn’t said with more melodic style and technical precision on the original Electro-Soma album. “Ecliptic,” for example, is a decent enough take on the airy side of Detroit techno but lacks the glassy elegance of “Hall of Mirrors,” while “Fear of Expression” has some of “Metropolis”’s rave urgency, without that track’s rush of cold emotion.
That’s not to say Electro-Soma II isn’t worth your time, just that it has big boots to fill. “Ming” is a wonderfully creepy crawly example of lolloping, late-night fog, while “Bubbles” uses the kind of aquatic synth rush that Drexicya would later make their own, the two tracks giving an indication of avenues B12 might have explored further had they not gone on hiatus from 1998 to 2005. Meanwhile, album highlight “Eilya” is a fantastic example of lush “Basic Emotion” ambience that would have slotted right onto the original Electro-Soma release.
What the new compilation really demonstrates, perhaps despite itself, is how well Rob Mitchell did when compiling the first Electro-Soma album, paring away B12’s more rambling tendencies to find the 10 essential songs within, on what remains the classic B12 release. Take Electro-Soma alone, then, for a direct hit of melodic IDM grandeur or pair it with Electro-Soma II for a more sustained, if diluted, approach. But whatever the case, do let B12 permeate your blood stream.
