As always, Cocoon Recordings celebrates the turn of the year with another delicious collection of electronic music. Dots And Pearls Volume 7 includes eight techno tracks of different shapes and sizes, which somehow manage to acknowledge both the past and the future, while remaining forever rooted in the ‘here and now’.
Lush beach bar vibes from ‘Halluzinelle’ get things rolling courtesy of DeFeKT x Extrawelt, and it’s not long before we’re lost in the subsonic undertow as warm acid vibes come and go. Sudo’s ‘Daytona’ then complements a dark, bassy beat with a nostalgic melody that soars into the sky, melting hearts and minds in the process. ‘Solaris’ takes a more urgent turn as JA:CK utilizes growling synths, breathy arpeggios, and an elongated breakdown, slowly raising the stakes as the dance floor begins to fold in on itself. Avision offers no reprieve on ‘Groove Theory’, maintaining intensity as you navigate frequencies through a dense forest of loops with a pounding 909 for company. Zzino & Insider continue the ’90s flashback with ‘Mind Crush’ and they certainly are true to their word, juxtaposing sharp acid arpeggios with seductive chords and analog washes in a cavernous, serotonin-drenched sounding epiphany. Monaco, Povoa then gets downright dirty on ‘Makeup Artist’, raising the tempo with bizarre metal riffs, twisted vocals and a plethora of disorienting filter action that will push even the most stubborn dance floor to the brink of implosion. Defex, Tsodor hits it just in time on the epic ‘Sieg der Liebe’, unleashing thick swathes of melancholy chords on top of a thick, undulating beat and the rhythms stay broken until the very end, as Christopher Ledger wraps things up with a classic slice of electronica. of Science fiction. ‘X24’ is all choppy edits, intricate sequences, sweltering special effects and metallic bleeps, adding another unexpected dimension to this dynamic compilation series.
