L/F/D/M - M Is A Shape

L/F/D/M - M Is A Shape

Verdict: 3.5/5
Label

Ecstatic

CATALOG NO

ELP008

RELEASE DATE

January 2015

Written By

Dragoș Rusu

Published

July 14, 2015

In the past three years - of these dull times that the music industry is enduring - Kompakt sub-label Ecstatic Recordings acted as a very interesting outlet for new left-field electronic music.

Just from the very beginning, both the Walls and Not Waving debuts set a radical stamp on the modern music of today. Acting also as the label’s curators, Alessio Natalizia and Sam Willis are - by now - fanciers of a good mind-stimulating contemporary sound that can act as attention-grabbing project for the present blocs of techno producers.

Every release of Ecstatic was surprisingly good, and each new one paved the way for further experimentations in that music area. Artist projects like Euclid (a Polish multi-instrumentalist named Wojciech Walesa), German based Hands (made up from Axel Willner and Lewis Hopkin) or Mattheis (the alias of Dutch electronic producer Matthijs Verschuure) continued this appealing direction that the first releases suggested, but, as expected, also pushed some bounders further, for that insatiable need of experimentation that most of artists are experiencing once in a while.

So far, 2015 is even better for the Ecstatic crew, with certain thrilling releases already out. Danielle Ciullini’s compilation must be the most significant work released so far, and also Gavin Russom's Hail of Arrows, but the debut of London based producer Richard Smith - as L/F/D/M - definitely stands out as a solid album comprising modern techno and electronics.

L/F/D/M first surfaced two years ago, inaugurating the Optimo Trax series with the Purple Maps EP. One year later, Smith has split efforts with former Factory Floor member Dominic Butler to create a couple of atonal techno releases under the Bronze Teeth moniker. These massive releases appeared on Powell’s Diagonal record label and caused serious damage on many dance floors around the world - and on many dancers’ minds.

‘M Is A Shape’ is a beautiful assortment of different electronic hybrids; each track is a total different character, standing out on its own terms, but strangely connected to the previous one, completing a ten tracks splendid release. While the infected techno ‘’Insect Cylinders’’ is building a hypnotic feel, making the listener falling into a trance, there’s ‘’Drifting Pyramid’’ that evokes mellow ambiences and requests mind sonic reveries. ‘’Sun Shape’’ is a good example of how the techno of today shall sound, and if you’re still not convinced, try ‘’Black Shadows’’ - well, especially if you like it dry.

Whether is for dance floor massacre purposes, or for lost minds out there, play this as loud as possible. Did your girlfriend mix up the wrong glasses? Did your bike get stolen? Did you smoke too much or just lost control? Did your desk burnt? Did you lose a ring, a needle, some hair, faith, money, poverty, a pair of coins, underwear, packages of cigarettes, small pieces of furniture, some close friends or none of the above? This techno dose may set you up, whatever your need is.

Tracklist:

A1. Untitled (Opening Scene)
A2. Drifting Pyramid
A3. Insect Cylinders
A4. New X
A5. Sun Shape
B1. Book Of Five
B2. Black Shadows
B3. No Cure
B4. Tape Tension Pt.1
B5. 2040/0305