UFO95 - Backward Improvement [Tresor]

Vinyl tracklist:
A1 Cogitor
A2 Sexual Tension
B1 Fragment
B2 Solar
B3 Gar

Writing about techno is quite difficult without falling into clichés: there are a limited number of ways to describe music whose main elements are based on deliberate repetition; where true talent is attributed to those who can find the perfect groove, where nothing needs to be added or removed to maintain the listener's attention for more than five minutes.

These tracks are the hallmark of the Tresor catalog, and this joy in repetition is found in works from Detroit, Berlin, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and beyond. Through this perspective, Parisian artist UFO95 approaches his production, resulting in Backward Improvement, an EP that fits perfectly into the spectrum of techno present in Tresor's chronology.

The title itself makes an abstract reference to the influence of the genre's classics, which inspired him to adopt a "less is more" production approach for this collection of stripped-down yet relentless techno, sculpted from the live set that has established UFO95 as one of the scene's future pillars.

Perhaps the fact that UFO95 only performs live has led to such crisp and focused studio productions; each track showcases the artist's growing talent for creating the essential foundations of techno: perfect, instinctive, looping grooves, counteracted by an unsettling tension from off-key tones.

Backward Improvement marks the addition of a new name to the roster of top techno producers and proves that, even though the genre is now in its 40th year, there are still sonic explorations to be made and variations worth discovering.