Electronic Sound May 2015 (Regular Edition) | Page 36

ALBUM REVIEWS

Troy Pierce left M-nus to form the quirky,
experimental Items & Things label. Talk
of exploring a fuller, more melodic sound
implied a sense of being constrained by
the aesthetic of their former home, but if
there were any hard feelings from Hawtin
then none were aired. Indeed, this
revisit to Houle’s ‘Restore’, each track
remixed by a different artist, is a M-nus
release. And it’s certainly more “full” and
“melodic” than anything you’d readily
associate with Hawtin’s label.

MARC HOULE
Restored
M-NUS
A-list remixers undertake a makeover of
Houle’s minimal classic ‘Restore’ – and
it ain’t minimal no more
Like his mentor Richie Hawtin, Marc
Houle was born on the other side of the
river. In Ontario, in other words, crossing
the water to Detroit to soak up the sine
waves of techno’s second generation in
the mid-90s. Encouraged by Detroit-born
DJ Magda, Houle went from promoting
a night at Hawtin’s Windsor club, 13
Below, to making his own tunes, and in
short order all three – Hawtin, Houle and
Magda – had set up the M-nus label.
M-nus, of course, was a home (maybe
even the home) to minimal techno,
a millennial sub-genre that quickly
moved from the power of Robert Hood’s
stripped-back vision and the dark artistry
of early M-nus to a precious, styled-out
parody of itself. In the few years between
came some great records, though, and
Houle’s ‘Restore’ album was one of them.
Broody and atmospheric, it’s only the
lack of low-end, as well as that infernal
drum sound (like someone flicking the lid
of a tube of Pringles) that date it. They
do, however, really date it.
Meanwhile, in 2011, Magda, Houle and

So out goes the Pringles lid tapping
and in comes the bass. Plus, in many
instances, a big-room sensibility. Monkey
Safari’s rework of ‘Pepper’ takes the
original (a rather by-numbers bit of
minimal hiss) and teases out plangent
chords that make it an epic yet lowkey masterpiece. Remixing ‘Borrowed
Gear’, one of the tracks least affected by
the passage of time and a favourite of
the Pet Shop Boys no less, Joris Voorn
boosts the low frequencies as well as the
melody, turning it into something of a
peak-time monster.

Monoloc dubs up ‘Sheep’, while the
‘Danny Daze Doom Dub Remix’ of ‘Talk
To Me Baby’ opts for a darker, more
abstract sound. In the main, however, the
remixers aim strai