If I had to pick an act that serves as the apotheosis of Basic Channel records, it would be Monolake. Like the rest of the roster, Robert Henke (and a revolving crew of collaborators) specialize in German minimalist techno. Sure, there’s a ton of that stuff out there, and most of it is downright embarrasing, but the guys on Basic Channel tend to push it into more interesting directions, if only in subtle ways.
Previous albums had ranged from Musique Concrete or dub experiments, but over the last few records, he’s been pushing in a more rhythmic direction, culminating in 2003’s excellent Momentum. The general mood is dark and metallic, and very sterile. This is music for airport runways at night or dark subway tunnels. There’s very little melody, and samples are used sparingly if at all, and are often so obfuscated as to be unrecognizable.
Polygon_Cities doesn’t push the envelope so much as strain at the edges a bit. The focus is still on texture and rhythmic interplay, but there are a few glints of light on the chrome surfaces here. The record opens with “Pipeline,” a dark, surging loop that invokes a more tightly-wound Underworld track, over which a robotic female voice opines about an oil pipeline. Odd, yes, but it adds an oddly impressionistic atmosphere to the proceedings.
The thing with Henke’s music is, once you’ve heard the first 30 seconds, you know how things are going to go from there. There are no surprises, and the static atmosphere lends real tension to some tracks like “North,” which is adorned with a chilly two-chord synth wash that gives it some buoyancy. However, on a couple of other tracks (“CCTV” most notably), this can get pretty ingratiating, as there’s a lack of ideas, and the music just comes off as mind-numbingly repetitive.
Fortunately, the successful work far outweighs the droll, and a couple of tracks are easily overlooked. More varied than the unrelenting Momentum, but also more uneven as a result. Still, a good record for most listeners, and an excellent record for fans of the genre.