James Pennington returns - the dark Detroit master with analbum going deep in his electro-break sounds and the moreliquid 4/4 "French Sisaque" - His freaky trademark originalDetroit techno hooks all over this.
The first album from Detroit pioneer and forerunner SuburbanKnight in over 12 years. One of the earliest protagonists in theepoch-defining, landscape-changing Motor City culturalmovement, and a card-carrying Underground Resistancemember, James Pennington's fingerprints are all over Detroit'snascent phases as he mentored the likes of Mike Banks,collaborated with Kevin Saunderson and appeared on formativeTransmat dispatches in the late 80s and early 90s. Preferring abehind-the-scenes role for many years, Pennington hasoperated in the shadows, only ever releasing music when he'shad something to say. There have been long periods of silencein his discography but in recent times he's returned with a seriesof singles and outings on Mollison Folson & Derrick Lewis'sDetroit Techno Records.
'Hi8tus' thrives off its timeless futurist schematics, each oneinstantly tapping into the deepest of Detroit sources, but doingso without any repetition or covering old routes. Largelybreakbeat-based, Pennington pays homage to the electrofoundations in a wide range of forward-facing ways; theuncompromising icy opener 'Far Far Away', the hazy soul anddreamy waves of 'Spiritual Ride' and the gnarled, brittlebrutalism of 'Stalker Turned Electro' (a nod to one of this mostenduring bangers back in the day - 'The Art Of Stalking') mapout the parameters of Knight's navigations. In between we have a brooding, pensive moments of tension. The four-to-the-floorprowl of 'Thy Will Be Done', the b-boy swagger of 'Machete', theglacial dark side voyage of '2 Different Worlds', the list ofimmersive explorations goes on...