Click Box have fast become a permanent fixture in the Minus firmament, personifying the subtle shifts that are taking place within the scene as the label expands its repertoire and broadens its horizons to incorporate emerging artists from all over the globe. Already on to their second Minus release of 2009, São Paulo DJs/producers Marco AS and Pedro Turra immediately pick up where they left off with the roving bass and pumping rhythm section of Wake Up Call doing exactly what it says on the tin. As with the first EP, the oscillating synth patterns continue to dominate proceedings, painting neon shapes in the darkness before another delicious robotic sequence shifts the atmosphere by introducing a moroder-esque vibe complete with twisted disco bleeps. It’s just another example of how Click Box have honed their sound since their debut I&T release through a finely crafted mixture of proto-house, electro and techno, to create a distinctive hybrid that’s fast becoming their own. There is something reassuringly familiar about the fat basslines and classic old school sequences they use but it’s their innovative approach to sound design and the adrenalin rush of their arrangements that allows them to connect the past and the future with such authenticity. Moving on, Nebula extends the party vibe with a funk-infused hihat pattern taking hold while a moody, throbbing bass pulse stalks the undergrowth. More modulated madness ensues as the wasp like synth melody twists and morphs to distraction, blooming and fading as the beats motor forward. Acidic overtones continue to dominate during the intro to Room before the boys let fly with another lethal snare line and a flurry of sliding bleeps. The tight interplay between the drum parts and bass patterns is a constant theme throughout these tracks but it’s the musical sensib ility of the outrageous sounds and shapes they use that really captures the imagination as you drift further into their cleverly mapped-out arrangements. The elasticated riffs and rubber bass pandemonium of Blue Box will have the back of your eyeballs sweating before you know it. Stretching out across another solid bank of drum programming, the unruly sounds cartwheel across the audio field, slipping their leash and running amok. The digital only cut S Bahn is a more spacious groove but just as lethal. It’s an underground ride through dark tunnels of growling analogue noise and urgent arpeggiated scales those rounds off this collection perfectly without ever skipping a beat, dropping a catch or easing up on the accelerator. With these two EPs Click Box have laid down a marker for 2009, expect to be blown away by their live shows later this year. More

On their introductory Minus EP, Click Box offers a refreshing return to a bygone era of classic instrumentals, full of experimentation and passion generated by that ongoing love affair between man and machine. Berlin Shades starts out in a jittery minimal fashion but soon dives much deeper as the tough electro bassline expands and contracts dragging the dancer to and fro. The cascading hook and in-your-face sci-fi synth motif add a sense of tongue-in-cheek drama to a dynamic arrangement that incorporates steep inclines, sharp drops and snaking pathways. As the short staccato bass riff gains momentum and the hook comes round for the second time you just know something’s lying in wait and the boys certainly don’t disappoint. Lost Road is anything but a blind alley, kicking off with some low-slung interplay between a two-note bassline and a whiplash snare that dishes out a serious spanking. Hi-hats fizz across the audio spectrum, cleverly pitching up and down before a drunken bass sequence ushers in the main section with its sliding, twisted synth distortions primed for surprise and immediate disorientation. Once all the elements are in play, the fun really starts with so many
objects of interest competing for attention. The arrangement is pulled and pushed to great effect extracting maximum effect from this tough little unit. More electro flavour to the fore as the loose, broken beat intro and robot sounds of Some Toys make for some slick moves on the dancefloor. The retro synth riffs and dark spiralling pads conjure up images of some early 80s lab full of computer kids in white coats twiddling knobs on huge mainframe monoliths. The bouncing bass and analogue belches make this a must for all retro-tastic electro-boogie fans. The theme continues over into Voxer as rising filtered bass tones playout over another trademark Click Box drum pattern, this time doused in heavy reverb and delay. An array of analogue bleeps, screams and laser beams keep the motor ticking over, the beats fall away revealing another rising, staccato acid bass and then the whole arrangement returns together in one almighty rolling break. There’s still time for one more round as Click Box really twist
the life out of their machines creating several minutes of pure sickness. The digital only cut Step Session gets back to basics with its raw techno flavour and yet another killer snare/molten bass combination that warps and transfixes the listener like a cobra. The continually shifting drum sounds and constantly surprising synth parts have clearly been tried and tested under intense live conditions around the globe which is why this EP is pure fire…just drop the needle on the record and watch the crowd go off. More

Detroit based multi instrumentalist Jimmy Edgar brings his unique electronic vision to Items & Things for the label’s keenly anticipated fourth release. Edgar’s versatility is well documented with influences ranging from jazz, funk and R&B through to Chicago house and of course Detroit techno. For this outing he puts his distinctive R&B tinged electronica to one side, laying down some timeless acid house grooves that pay homage to the founding fathers of the genre. The sublime techno soul of the title track Funktion House kicks off the 4-track EP with sweet chord stabs and laid back laser sweeps dominating the intro. A gentle yet infectious background melody that’ll pull bodies to the dancefloor like bees to honey completes the summertime vibe with each element effortlessly evolving as Edgar applies subtle ring shifts and delays to the down tempo groove. The tension gradually builds with some acidic tweaks eventually emerging to complement the squelchy bassline but the track never loses sight of its soulful origins, keeping the floor ticking over and soothing the collective spirit in a wash of old school nostalgia. Dark acid tones abound on Young Thing with its dirty, scratchy vocal parts posturing over a sparse, razor sharp 808 groove in a return to the days of Phuture Fantasy Club and Fast Eddie’s Acid Thunder. The nervous tension resonates back and forth between the liquid acid and the pitched down vocals creating the perfect late night dancefloor moment that’ll turn the most innocent of clubs into a heaving sweatbox, maintaining the high standards and left field agenda set by the label’s previous three releases. The beats get nasty as another of Detroit’s next generation, Thrill Cosby aka Seth Troxler goes to work on reforming Funktion. The mood is relentless from the off with another twisting acid line accompanying a host of peripheral bleeps, efx and reinterpreted retro synth stabs from the original version. The groove pushes forward urgently, cloaked by freaky pitcheddown vocals that repeat hypnotically into a full-on electro funk breakdown that disorientates and seduces in equal measures. Edgar’s own acid remix of Funktion offers a more toxic take on the original theme. It’s raw, stripped down with urgent snare rolls, machine gun claps and cavernous reverberating vocal efx. The jacking bassline becomes embroiled with the splayed hi-hat pattern before a complimentary second bassline fleshes out the sequence. The powerful acid rush continues to ebb and flow, teasing the floor constantly before he finally drives it to point of climax, tweaking the controls to oblivion until the track dissolves into a sea of delay. More