I’m a big fan of microhouse and minimal techno, but they are beginning to sound old and tired.  Actually, veterans of the scene would tell you that it began to sound old and tired a long time ago.  Producers are using drum patterns and synths that are too similar to each other, and truly fresh tracks are few and far between.  Sometimes, a label comes by and changes the sound of the genre.  Early this decade, the record label Kompakt pioneered minimal techno.  More recently, labels like M_nus, Cocoon, and Perlon, among others, have used their popularity to influence the sound of the genre.  At this point, finding fresh sound takes a bit of digging, and sometimes you get lucky.  Early this year I was sent a promo by Trust US records, and I knew I had received something special.  Trust Us records is brand new imprint label off of Skript Music out of Frankfurt, Germany.  Their first release, Good Rock Dancing, by Robin Jacobs & Martex, is a great way to start the label.  The single “Good Rock Dancing” and its three accompanying remixes are brilliantly creative and fresh, and purposefully built to destroy the dance floor.  John Largora’s quirky interpretation of “Good Rock Dancing” is especially potent.  Lagora’s remix is extraordinarily complex while managing to retain the clean sound one expects from minimal techno such as this.  Ben Ryser’s remix is also very memorable, adding cool synth sounds and tribal drumming, all the while retaining much of the original track’s sound.  I highly recommend investigating this release, especially to minimal fans who have been searching for a fresh sound. 

Good Rock Dancing will be released in March of 2009.