Surgeon - Basictonal-remake FLAC

In my humble opinion this is one of Tresor's all time top ten 12" releases, and an all around perfect, yet stylistically colorful, techno extended player. What always made me admire it so much is the fact that each and every rework of a track from his debut album is a vast upgrade of the source material. To keep it simple, Surgeon and Mick Harris outdo themselves as they overshadow the original compositions by emulating them on every level.
Whereas the other remake releases of his Tresor albums are amazing in their own right, they are more or less on the same musical level of their original counterparts. The producer is giving a new spin to tracks that are indeed already so good that a makeover is hardly necessary.

But here, it may just be that this motley collection of tunes epitomizes the peak of Child's early career, if not his versatility in toying around with nuances of grey in one's bad mood.

(Intro) Version II is by this day and age a combat hardened Tresor anthem from the vault. By me considered one of the finest examples of pure, mayhem inducing, all systems go mad type tracks. It is preciselly this incessant drive, relentless rhythmic stomp and grating synth structure building up tension to the point of maddening that made the genre so attractive in the first place. It was loud, heavy, ballsy, and damn impossible not to move to.
This tune, in particular, benefits from applying Surgeon's back then trademark malevolent synthetic sweeps and taking them over the top with lengthy, almost dramatic break downs and seemingly unstoppable outbursts of sonic fury that would ensue. Your techno baptism isn't complete if you haven't lost it to (Intro) Version II at least once in front of a towering stack of club speakers. The whole thing is then coated in a rhythmic march that makes the track sound like it was recorded from inside a locust swarm. Absolutely mental.

Krautrock Version III expands upon the original, turning it into a seriously twisted bass heavy monster with obnoxious low-end response. Not as intense as its predecessor, it nonetheless keeps up with the energy level by unleashing a savage bass line rip it up over clever, fractured beat programming. Brilliant execution.

Flip the record over and there is a well deserved ambient (illbient) rework by Mick Harris. Eerie, psychedelic, spooky. Downtempo it may be style wise, but it still packs a hefty punch, and is a hand in glove companion to the sinister A side burners. The beat is crooked, very deep and dirty. More suitable for a dub tune, or something. Throbbing from the bass department gives it that huge nine A.M. head nodding potential when you have to play something, but are pretty much convinced the crowd has had just about all the techno they could handle in one night.

Depart Version II is adventurous experimentalism in techno. Far out passages, erratic outbursts of odd sound trickery, unpredictable rhythms, discordant melody work and what not. An absolutely marvellous way to close this master piece of a record.
The makers operate within the techno framework, but manage to deliver four highly individual, diverse and confident pieces, covering both the dance floors and the darkened chill-out rooms. This is a full blown techno classic as far as my grading system goes, and am glad to see heaps upon heaps of techno afficionados concur!

Unfettered from the constraints of his part-owned label, SURGEON walks with the club scene Gods on TRESOR. This 4 track EP keeps ANTHONY CHILDS' groundbreaking project ahead of the pack. "1.01 (Intro) Version II" keeps the madcap sound which seems always to be on the verge of collapse, but ventures into an almost REICH-like landscape of shimmering, cycling instrumentation. It nods respectfullytowards Industrial and Minimalism, then leaves them to eat it's dust as it races on. "1.02 Krautrock Version III" returns towards the dance floor with a subtly metamorphic dance sound. It has shed it's former dissonanceand become something which mischievously seduces the listener while remaining DJ-friendly. The second side kicks off with "2.03. Waiting (Mick Harris Remake)" which comes across very much as a SCORN-style track with tinkling piano like glass reflected on a midnight road, and disquieting break-beat skeletal drums. "2.04. Depart Version II" shows a move away from constant beat hard driving House and towards a more delicate, subtle rhythmic format with Industrial machine overtones. This track reminds me of COIL's rhythms circa "Love's Secret Domain". If music has moved on, and the DOWNWARDS house HOUSE sound is yesterday's news, as many say, then SURGEON has the intelligence and ability to stay ahead of the all-consuming tidal wave which is the anti-matter of public taste.

Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.