On this outing from Paul Slocum’s echolalia-stricken Softoft project, we get a subtle upgrade of hard-charged, nineties-era techno. Slocum, who reportedly developed his own software for the creation of these sounds, ramps up the disorientation factor with looping, slurred and blurred female vocals, but, for the most part, this rather short c-15 cassette is all about the beats. It’s not all four-on-the-floor pound, though, as “Moon Patrol Remix”, one of the real standout tracks, takes basic Congotronics polyrhythms and sends them into swirling overdrive. I can imagine a bunch of hopped-up UK club-goers losing their shit to what goes down on Techech were it blaring through a decent sound system. But, I can’t say that this same energy translates through this shitty boombox here in my home, which has sort of been a long-standing bias I’ve held for music of this ilk. To be fair and put in another context where many a cassette is listened to: this would probably make for some great driving music. I’d venture a guess, though, that the likelihood of a person getting a speeding ticket would increase tenfold. Be cautious.
