2023 Reissue, Tipp
Dropping in January 2023 is the reissue of DJ Shufflemaster's album EXP, which Tresor Records first released in
2001. This expanded reissue comes as a 3xLP with new artwork by Japanese designer Sk8thing and combines the
original CD release tracks with three tracks from the Angel Gate 12" from the same year, including a remix by
Surgeon of Experience. Also present is a previously unreleased version of Innervisions, which replaces the assonant
synths of the original with a looped vocal sample upfront. Climb and Guiding Light will feature as digital-only tracks.
Tatsuya Kanamori remains a critical component of the Tokyo techno underground scene, initially coming to the fore
through the Subvoice label before releases with Tresor, Theory Recordings, and Japanese record labels such as Disq
and Reel Musiq. At the moment of the original release, DJ Shufflemaster considered the record to draw in disparate
and latent ideas into a fully encompassing mesh - ''I would like to show my thoughts and everything that I am
through the album. If it doesn't reflect my ideas and the reasons that I live for, there is no meaning for me to create
an album. Therefore, EXP doesn't contain just one theme or concept.''
EXP represents an uncompromising and psychedelic slant on techno, with a purist's focus on the dancefloor. It
bridges many avenues within the techno genre, from the minimalist, dubby terrains of tracks like P.F.L.P. and
Opaqueness, to more fierce percussive works that share a kinship with the sonic movements in Berlin, Detroit and
the UK. Beyond the technical, pared-down techno found in tracks such as EXP and Onto The Body, the album leaps
into unpredictable territories frequently. Angel Exit carries mystical UK steppers moods as if it were a long-lost
dubplate of The Rootsman. Kanamori delves deep into looping digital grunge in Flowers of Cantarella and Dawn
Purple, these synthetic worlds enveloping and deforming at will. Bold and as fresh as ever, EXP is an unearthed jewel
from Tresor's past for new ears.