AHI COMPILATION 09
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Album Title: AHI COMPILATION 09 |
| Record Label: Akihabara Heavy Industry Inc. |
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| Catalog No.: AHI09 |
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| Release Date: August 10, 2018 |
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| Purchase: Buy at Sweep Record |
Overview
The AHI COMPILATION 09 is an album of techno music published by Akihabara Heavy Industry, Inc., and has ties to Supersweep’s Atsushi Ohara. How does this album, which veers towards more of a DJ usage mindset, turn out and how are the overall contributions by the various artists who participated on the album?
Body
The album opens with “Black Box,” an underground techno tune with heavy industrial tones that definitely give a preview of what most of the album is like. It’s an exhilarating sound, but the vocal samples do get stale. “Favrt,” by Atsushi Ohara, features hard techno beats, ambient synths, but drones on, giving it the feeling of an underground club scene. It isn’t the best tune on the album, but it does feel like it would work in a DJ set. In fact, a lot of the tunes on this album are probably better suited for a DJ set than standalone listens, particularly due to the average length of each tune on the album. Tunes like “Annihilation (omae03 Remix)” and “Butt Drop Ultra Farts” both feature softer techno beats and quirky synths and eventually incorporate more ambient sections. Other tunes, like “Basic Box” and “flair (Yusuke Takenouchi Remix)” also would work better as part of a mix. The former has some jungle-ish influence and drum rhythms, while the industrial synths featured provide some atmosphere, but the end result is a bit lackluster on a standalone basis. The latter features choppy synths, but is super repetitive, especially early on. As it progresses, it gets more of a hard techno sound and becomes more engaging, but the journey there is certainly more appropriate as part of a mix.
However, there are some softer tunes on the album that manage to impress, even on their own. “antennation” features beautiful crystalline and icy synths atop light techno beats. Despite this, the softer sound provides a bit of warmth to a very cold, overall, soundscape on the album. “Color mixture” is a softer ambient tune with techno beats, bell chimes, and a warm soundscape with some light industrial tones that, while droning at times, is a relaxing listen. Likewise, “defuse” is another warm sounding tune with soft techno beats and some industrial tones that results in a chill and relaxing atmosphere. Shinji Hosoe’s “noitacefed (Shinji Hosoe Remix)” is a fantastic standalone tune with its industrial, retro, and game vibes. It has a very distinct SamplingMasters sound and the varied progression keeps it engaging from start to finish. Lastly, Nhato’s “Area of effect (Nhato Remix)” is a blend of industrial sounds, atmospheric synths, vocal samples, and, like Hosoe’s remix, a very SamplingMasters retro vibe. The end result, while not my favorite on the album, is still a worthy listen and a nice way to close the album.
Summary
The AHI COMPILATION 09 is an interesting CD full of techno music. While most of it definitely feels more at home in a DJ set, there are plenty of tunes that work on a standalone listen. Even the tunes that are not too varied have a nice atmosphere and a club vibe, but it makes for a very similar listen, as some tunes blend together. It’s certainly not for everyone, but not an awful album either.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
3.5
Posted on October 31, 2018 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on October 31, 2018.
About the Author
Don Kotowski Currently residing in Philadelphia. I spend my days working in vaccine characterization and dedicate some of my spare time in the evening to the vast world of video game music, both reviewing soundtracks as well as maintaining relationships with composers overseas in Europe and in Japan.
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