- A compilation that explores hypnotic techno with mixed results.
- Compilation EPs can be tricky. The best showcase a group of artists in top form. Then there are records that end up flat and repetitive, with tracks that stand out only in a skilled DJ's hands. Submerged World sits somewhere in the middle. It's the first compilation 12-inch on Substrato, a techno label founded by the Italian artist Buck. It collects tunes from a couple of Buck's fellow Italians on the A-side, and two Swedish producers on the B-side. In this matchup, the Swedes are the winners. Evigt Mörker dials in voodoo ambience and some refreshing artistic indulgence on "Dödligt Sår," a throbbing halftime cut with steamy organic textures and a twilit drone. Acronym's bassline-driven "The Permafrost Melt" is a widescreen affair, brimming with light-as-air pads and bright melodic beeps.
Neel, who also mastered the release, and Retina.it are less adventurous. Neel's "Fumana" adheres to the hypnotic, lost-in-a-forest sound he's helped define in recent years, but unlike Mörker's effort, it does little to build on a niche that sometimes feels like it's stagnating. Retina.it, who put together a mind-bending EP for Substrato last year, offer a middling slice of dark, droning techno with "A Spiral Ladder." Their tracks aren't complete throwaways, but we've come to expect more from these two acts.
Lista de sequência de músicasA1 Neel - Fumana
A2 Retina.it - A Spiral Ladder
B1 Acronym - The Permafrost Melt
B2 Evigt Morker - Dodligt Sar