AnD are a duo living in Manchester, UK. They have released a split 12 inch with 16 Bit on Mindset in 2009, the second 12 inch on Black Sun Records that came out recently and a couple of 12 inches on Horizontal Ground. They sent me various batches of tracks spanning a wide range of sounds, all rooted in Techno to my ears but spanning different tempos, emphasis and mood. I selected three of those tracks to appear on this EP, ranging between 130 and 135 BPM. (Project Squared)
“Algorythmic Love” is probably the most dancefloor orientated of the three. A percussive monster with a huge kick drum, but that doesn’t work around the 4/4 template. The lush chords that creep in towards the end of the tune bring out a depth that’s alluded to but never revealed fully in the first half.
“Brother From Another Mother” feels a lot slower but is around the same speed. The drums are staccato and restrained with perfect placement of hits around some ethereal delay heavy melody and huge bass.
“Swing Me” refocuses on the dancefloor but rather than using prominent drums to that end it employs twisting synth melodies to generate pace and energy.
Tom Dicicco is a Techno producer also based in Manchester. When AnD told me that they knew him and that he’d be up for doing a remix I jumped at the chance; Tom’s first 12” on Baud and his track on Jonas Kopp’s “Music From The Basement” compilation blew me away. His “Late Night Dub” of “Brother From Another Mother” turns the tune into a 124 BPM Techno track, powered by some very prominent Hi Hat work and laced with beautiful delay riddled melody. To me it sounds like a fusion of Dub Techno and House, complimenting the original tracks on the EP perfectly.