Saturday, August 22, 2009

Equitant - Mekanik & Dynamism reviews @ Sideline Magazine

Equitant - Mekanik (digital release Mcd Black Montanas) +
Mekanik Remix (digital release Mcd Black Montanas)

Posted on 21 Aug, 2009

You don't exactly expect hard techno-EBM coming from Texas (USA) and yet Equitant is a project that has been already active since the early 90s. It must be said that it took some time before Equitant finally found his current style. I remember that some 'earlier' releases didn't impress me at all, but the project now deals with a perfect merge of old school EBM and technoid beats. The "Mekanik" and "Mekanik Remixes" maxi's have been released a few months ago now, but we here take the opportunity to pay some attention for the project and both releases. The title song sounds as the perfect match between old-school EBM and techno elements. It can be defined as the offspring between bands like Nitzer Ebb, DAF and co at one side and Horrorist at the other side. The mix of both styles is simply irresistible and injects a refreshing boost to the traditional EBM. There're no real vocals here except the mention of the title "Mekanik" that has been used as a sampling effect. Next comes the more technoid "Illusion II". It's once more a song based on strong EBM structures joined with techno-dance vibes. And the party goes on with another great song entitled "Korperwarme". This one comes more in the line of the title song as is pure dance food while "Dominierte" ending this "Mekanik"-maxi sounds a little bit softer. The "Mekanik Remix" brings 4 remixes from the title-song. 3 remixes have been executed by Elite! While the last one has been revisited by Equitant in person. The remixes are nice and all delivering a nice twist between the favourite EBM and techno ingredients of Equitant. I personally prefer the original Mcd, but both together can be seen as a real nice and exploding EBM-EP.

Equitant @ Sideline

Equitant - Dynamism (digital release Mcd Black Montanas)

Posted on 21 Aug, 2009

The Mcd "Mekanik" released in 2008 was already a terrific piece of techno-body stuff, but the newest "Dynamism" is simply a must have! The 'original' version of Dynamism opens here and directly reveals an aggreppo, carrying bass line with an icy, beautiful string on top. The song is driven by a repetitive, but ultra danceable beat. We can't really speak about vocals, but the title of the song was used as a sampling. The remix by Equitant adds a little metallic percussion sound, which injects some little diversity to the original version. Next comes the remarkable "Di Minantz Di Inferni". This song is pure dance terror! I got the impression when pushing on the play button of my cd-player that I switched on a kind of techno-EBM engine. It all sounds pretty repetitive, but all the strength of the song (and Equitant as well) appears in the power of the bass line and the unique strings. The beat is just driving you mad! The last 2 pieces are remixes by Elite! which is another familiar project on Black Montanas and a very prolific remixer. Both remixes of "Dynamism" are a bit quieter and a little bit more wafting. It's not bad at all and totally different, but I definitely prefer the harder EBM stuff! This is very nutritive DJ food!
(DP:8)DP.

Equitant @ Sideline

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