Auf Togo Meets Becker and Mukai SaS Recordings | The Electro Review

Auf Togo, Becker, and Mukai
Auf Togo Meets Becker and Mukai
SaS Recordings
TBR: 25th January


When these cutting-edge music producers met up in Shoreditch at Sounds And Sons Studios during 2018, they gave their all on this collaborative project. After a couple of long sessions of making, mixing, and mastering, the combination of hours, talent, and direction of the day resulted in this four track ability demonstration. It's always a unique experience whenever we play along with a new musician and the groove that naturally fits each group of people always sounds different. Auf Togo are comprised of Sasa Crnobrnja of In Flagranti and Clement CachotCoulom from The Fabulous Penetrators. On the other hand, Jean-Gabriel Becker from Lux Prima and Susumu Mukai from Zongamin make up the natural force that is Becker and Mukai. This nod towards 80s underground dance with a space-age twist makes full use of the vintage and modern sounds these artists are known for.


Tropical rhythms strike the opening phrase of Cruiser which carry a swirling digital twist of staticy fuzz. A drumbeat layers over like a well-fitted bed-sheet and the groove opens out to allow for steady dancing. Rhythmic melodics flow through the open doors in bursts of distorted colour before a choral burst of voices start casting a majestic spell. After so many bars of easy going beats, in pours the bass. Like dewdrops on huge blades of grass, liquid globules of sound quiver all around. A misty spray of melody begins, in harmony with the chunkier bass. The entire mix is pinned down to a tight beat which makes sure every element is kept on the drum. With each passing moment, the track progresses further, bringing new instruments into the flow. There's even an electric guitar.


Then, a riding tone brings along a thumping bass drum which then entices percussive melodics to follow in turn. The drums evolve and gather pressure with new additions to the mix. New bass tones drag in a heavy section which fits in a perfectly balanced 3D sonic space. Squidgy notes bounce around in rubbery spaces which become jamming prompts for chuggy guitars. Layers of synthesiser sprinkle rapidly moving journeys of spatial ceilings which trickle down like falling leaves to greet the spongy undertones. Before Time makes us think of a universe where time did not exist. As light makes up the nature of time, due to the fact it must travel at a set speed no matter how fast we are going personally, it becomes clear that light-speed is more tangible than time. In order to preserve the speed of light, time speeds up or slows down depending on our speed in the universe. Light-speed Vs. Time and Light-speed wins every time. Is it all in the mind?


Melodic rhythms begin New Dawn. A funky drum-beat and bass lick roll in to bring in a new feel to the music. Rhythm guitar lays down psychedelic grooves to bring out a stylish and nostalgia inducing layer to the track. Drums increase in variety, pounding bass sections with shakers and wooden blocks all combine to let out a full-on moving tempo. The bass keeps inserting powerful section of beat while the music drifts along in well-mannered variations. Strange sound-effects begin to sparkle and whistle in the background, growing louder, a jungle of music starts to glisten before us. It's a catchy progressive number that has a highly memorable composition.


What sounds like the ticking of a disco-clock springs open the last track on this EP. More melodic drums add a layer of movement to the stable clicking of the metronome style percussion. Digital bass notes begin to bounce on stable plinths, elevated from the humming of the dance-floor, while even higher tones perform acrobatic tricks and artistic poses while flapping long silken scarves. A retrotastic feel drips from the seams of this one, the choice of voice on the keyboards brings home memories of 16 bit computer games while the strict dancing formulae continually bring home the club. High Sweat is a great number, one that ends the EP perfectly, and invites us to do it all again.


Watch the video for Cruiser on Youtube.

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