I brought this record with me from Ireland when I moved to San Francisco in January of 1995. It came out in the fall or early winter of 1994 and XLR8R #16 probably came out in early 1995. I felt that it was a fairly recent release and therefore deserved a review, as it hadn’t been covered already. I love “Game One,” it’s one of my favorite Detroit techno tracks ever.

It’s quite fast at almost 140 beats per minute, but as the review says, you can pitch it back a bit and play it with the more uptempo end of house or play it with harder, faster tracks. Given the tempo of the more interesting bass music releases of the last five years years, from producers like Jack Sparrow, Joy Orbison, Martyn – Instra:mental’s excellent remix of Mount Kimbie is a perfect example — you could put “Game One” in the middle of a set of this type of gear and really change up the texture and feel of a set.

“Game One” is a timeless piece of electronic music. It is as danceable as it is intelligent and I always feel a sense of excitement when that wash of strings kicks in and the bassline gallops forward, taking the track on a deep, but driving path. Minimalists did, and still do, love  “Think Quick” and over time I have grown to like it more.

I was a bit of a minimal naysayer twenty years ago, though I always appreciated the function of extremely minimal dance music and played many tracks in that vein. Hearing an entire set of it fatigues me, but hearing it mixed in at the right moment in the middle of a set of more melodic house or techno makes you realize how useful and interesting it can be, what a profound dynamic it can create.

Infiniti
Game One/Think Quick
Metroplex/US/12
“Game One” is a return to inspirational music like Model 500’s “Off to Battle,” “The Passage” and “The Wanderer,” music that Juan Atkins produced with subtlety and power. This track initially creeps along in a Basic Channel fashion with a soft 808 kick, rasping synth line and off beat snares before Atkins and collaborator, Orlando Voorn, drop a fat ‘washing machine’ bassline (thanks to Larry Heard for that sweet invention) that bounches along like an avalanche of over-sized beach balls. They stunt its playfulness with melancholy strings and then set it off again to bring dancers with it on its aqautic gambol.

The beauty of this music is that it can be played in any type of uptempo set; pitch it back and play it with house, forward it to fit in with trance and harder styles. “Think Quick” on the flip side is remixed by Basic Channel and Marathon honcho, Moritz Von Oswald. It’s not remarkable, but will keep hardened BC fans happy. Buy this EP for “Game One”,  a true exercise (or should I say lesson) in real techno. CO