• Search
• Subscribe

A confirmed techno boffin since his teens and one of the stalwarts of CMYK, Madrid's Damian Schwartz brings the full force of his talent to bear on the latest cut from his hometown label - and gives the lie to the notion that northern Europe has minimal techno on lock.

If you're waiting for a more insidiously attractive dancefloor weapon than a-side Trafalmadore to cross your path you had better get settled, you'll be waiting a long time. It has smoothly layered percussion: hand-claps, pastry-brush drums, a canter of castanets, and a silky, almost imperceptible bassline. Throw in a sinister male vocal and all the elements in the "minimal starter kit" are present and correct.

But no novice could possibly hope to create the infectious, hip-swinging sashay of this record. Lurking somewhere beneath the cool, collected production is a fiery pulse. It is Latin passion dressed in Detroit clothing, an delightfully unexpected twist to a familiar tale.

The b-side, Morado Pilgrim is, apparently, Schwartz's tribute to one of his heroes, American literary legend Kurt Vonnegut. Billy Pilgrim, protagonist of Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, has "come unstuck in time" and Schwartz explores the possibilities of coming unstuck in music. Darker than Trafalmadore, Morado Pilgrim has has a subtle, creeping, mechanistic menace that invites your mind to consider possibilities outside of the usual space/time continuum. It's a late night, heavyweight head-twist of a record - the perfect devious counterpart to the unexpectedly lightfooted lead track.

Having created some of the best clubs on the planet it looks like Spain is in a hurry to make the best music as well…