Regal Is Royal And His Last Release Confirms It
A review by Clara Terhani.
Hypnotic, introspective, dark. Regal is back.
Salie EP, out April 25th 2016 in his Involve Records doesn’t necessarily follow his previous works on the label, albeit unmistakably Regal. It’s got the 303 leading the game once again, but presents different rhythmic and sonic explorations, more subtle, more pondered, somewhat more intellectual. It is a mature Regal-sounding EP we review today, pleasant yet intriguing, punchy yet delicate, definitely demanding more than one quick scan over the tracks.
The EP’s opening track, Communications, is the farthest from techno in the whole album. It’s got an ambient feel to it, for the slow progression, for the space between the elements as well as for the elements themselves, but the sparse beat with a slow dubstep-y arrangement to it makes it stand from today’s trend of ambient tracks. Throughout its 3-plus minutes, the track seems to pull the listener away from the potential expectations he/she might have for this record.
One can’t help but feel we are before a very personal EP, in which Regal pours all the contradicting forces that prompt (t)his change. Impulsive Feelings, the second track of the A-side, stands as a good example. Despite being a clear dance-floor skewed track with great full driving kick and his classic, distorted, acid bass line, it adds a voice-like element with incredible haunting power that somehow elevates the whole track to a spiritual dimension. It takes the time let that feeling sink in with a long indulgent break in the beat, only to return full-throttle when the web of twirling acid threads has again captured the listener’s full attention.
Like Regal did, that of the whole underground techno community when he stormed into the scene back in 2012, signing a brilliant number 001 to launch Involve Records. The Italian-born Madrid-based producer hasn’t stopped conquering his particular territory with release after release of soulful old-school acid rave-sounding techno on his Involve, Enemy Records and, last year, on Len Faki’s outstanding Figure. Alongside his progression has been that of Involve Records, a label that has become platform for the purist classic techno Regal believes in. It has thrown artists like Z.I.P.P.O. or Boston 168 into the spotlight on the one hand and given established names such as Jeroen Search, Ritzi Lee and Pär Grindvik the chance to reinterpret the label’s best work in its 2 remix EPs.
It had been almost a year since Regal’s last release, Ama Mater (INV008). Even if that record was already showing an intention to discover territories other than his initial productions, it is only in this Salie that that distance feels evident. The B-side opens to the title-track Salie, a powerful 4-to-the-floor piece that pairs the dominance of the rave acid TB-303 with a trance-inspired FM synth chord progression. The result is a fantastic original soundscape that will surely get feet stomping and minds tripping.
Closing the EP is the epically-named Tears of God. Laid over marching drum patterns built on an organic kit are a slow spacey but still acid bass line and again the magnetic feel of FM. It is probably the most futuristic track Regal has ever produced, an intricate arrangement of simple elements crafted in a surprising way. A closure that leaves us looking forward to see what will come next, while we hurry to give the album another listen.
All encompassed it’s a beautiful EP that will surely amaze the closest Regal followers, and conquer him new ones.
About Techno Scene Reviews
On a daily basis, we receive and perceive new pieces of music, all within the spectrum of techno. That’s why we feel like writing articles about it, to translate the music into words in the best way possible. Unlike other reviews, we’re not into giving a rating to the releases. If it’s good, we’ll give it or seal of approval. But in the end, it’s your own choice and freedom to like it or not.