I’m writing about albums this year, older albums (meaning: not released in the last year or so) that I’ve listened to over and over and thought about and want to talk about. This is the first one: BCD by Basic Channel
This isn’t what they’re known for. Basic Channel made a name with their singles: 9 of them in 2 years (’93 and ’94), vinyl-only techno tracks that gave new meaning to the word “minimalism.” These were tunes that went on for as long as 20+ minutes, often with nothing but a few throbbing synthesizer lines and maybe (not always!) a backbeat. This being techno, you could say that they were meant for club use, for DJs who would only play out a few minutes of them—the “important parts”—or layer them with other tracks. And that’s just what Scion did in Arrange and Process Basic Channel Tracks, layering the singles into a dense, hypnotic DJ set.
But that’s only half of the story. Sure, tracks like Enforcement and Phylyps Trak cry out for club use, but how does something like Presence fit in? Sure, you can layer it with other tracks to add atmosphere, but is that really its purpose? 20 minutes of slow, beatless crescendo is overkill for any DJ. No, this is stuff you have to hear at home, on its own terms.
