ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? Anyone who jumped on the 2015 reissue of Optik’s Music Harmony And Rhythm 12” should peep this similarly sublime head trip of Italian melodic techno. To give you an idea of how far out this record is, the center label on the original pressing shouts out Syd Barrett, Tangerine Dream, Aphex Twin & Isaac Asimov. Side B boasts a balearic live version of “Tubes” with added percussion and the dissonant, atonal wildcard “Madcap”. But for us, its the original version on the A side that makes this reissue so crucial, falling somewhere between Carl Craig, Laurent Garnier and Jeff Mills with its deep intergalactic atmosphere underpinned by a jacking 909 rhythm and hypnotizing sub bass. Bookended by two suites of ambient soundscape, musique concrete and haunting piano, “Tubes” is an eight-and-a-half minute sonic excursion that belongs in the collection of any psychedelic music freak. Recommended.
- music label: Flash Forward 2016