Shifted – Crossed Paths

I was not really into this album, so I swapped it for something that I was more keen on at the time. I'd take any one of the 12" releases he dropped for Luke Slater's great imprint, any day of the week. However, I might have gotten a little ahead of myself. Just maybe.

I heard Leather dropped in real time recently and it did what it is designed to do: amaze. Pumping bass segment, stripped, rudimental beats and those chime bells. Oh man, the bells. Would have this one back for that track, and that one only. Some of the coolest bell sound manipulation I've heard since that-track-the-whole-world-knows-so-I-won't-write-its-name. The drop around the four minute mark is as deadly as the shrapnel hiss that underpins the bells. Absolute beast of a tune at four AM. Will keep your head ringing. Although Shifted's sparse approach to production has cost him some listening time in my room, this one is a keeper. A tool in its own right, but it has these incessant bells that make it stand out above the rest. Well done. Now just to grab a copy.

Absolutely brilliant, essential release by Shifted.
There is a ridiculous amount of detail throughout this entire 2x12. Sound design, atmospherics, morphing layers....yet with solid, minimalist sensibilities.

Not an "ADD album tho"... Tracks build meticulously, with steady, constant periods of builds/tension of energy. ...this album is absolutely "cream of the crop techno" for DJing. Dropped at the right times, pretty much any of the tracks will devastate a dancefloor.
So hard to pick a favorite track from this lot, but "Leather" is a great, deep piece of prime-time techno.

Too bad this album has become difficult to come by, but that's probably a pretty good indicator of its quality.

Highly recommended!

Just a collection of decent tracks. I expect more out of a good electronic album. Can get dull, samey at times. But then again, I'm not really a fan of Luke Slater's Mote-Evolver sound, which can be boiled down to nothing more than repetitive industrial techno beats. Some of the music can just drone on and get absolutely nowhere. Lacks emotion or the exceptional production quality of albums from other artists, like Sandwell District.