Mike Parker - The Devil's Curators Vol.3

8 Jun

Spazio Disponibile has become huge over the last few years as the Italian label dives headfirst into a seemingly untapped niche, becoming a brand best known for exploratory techno and fearless electronic music. Created by Voices From The Lake, the experimental duo comprising Donato Dozzy and Neel, it was only a matter of time before influential artists within the scene started popping up on the label. Spazio Disponibile combines a distinct art style with some of the most artistic music in all electronic music. The Spazio Disponibile artists create minimal interlocking webs of bass weight, percussion and an atmosphere that interact effortlessly, making the label's output second to none.

One of the most experienced artists on the Spazio Disponibile roster is Mike Parker, an artist and producer whose catalogue of work stretches decades over several different labels, including his very own Geophone. So far, Parker has several releases under the Spazio Disponibile umbrella, including but not limited to the three-part series The Devil's Curators.

Diving into The Devil's Curators Vol.3, Parker lays down five exquisite tracks that showcase a nuanced understanding of the intricacies of abstract techno. Parker moves between tempos, switches intensities and plays with a limited sound palette using it to inspire creative production techniques rather than a limitation. The Devil's Curators begins by showing Parker's fluid approach to techno. Parker's extensive use of LFOs creates an ebb and flow to all his works as rolling ride cymbals flow in and out of the track 'AT Tracker' while the 303 acid squelches receive the progressive changes on 'ZERO M3'.

If the slam of industrial kicks and rumbling basses is more your speed, Parker entertains that on 'EM Pattern'. The big-room industrial weapon is laced with darkness and anger. Synthesisers are short and sharp as they fade back into line behind the heavy kicks. It draws a comparison to the suppression of voices in the military context. The march of soldiers drowns out the noise. And just as fast as statements are made, Parker flips everything on its head, unveiling a half-time dubbed-out stepper in 'Thrilling Sound'. A track that seems in ideological contrast to the one before, but stylistically, they match perfectly. 'Radar Signal' closes out the record. It's an understated percussion-less track which, at first glance, could be seen as the most boring. It doesn't have the high intensity of some of the other cuts or the playfulness with the synthesisers, but it's probably the most Mike Parker track on the release. Here, we have 3 minutes and 15 seconds of simple sounds morphing and changing into each other, overlapping, amalgamating, and birthing new sounds from within. That's the Mike Parker sound most enjoyable. Receiving quite severe limitations and creating something thought-provoking from it.

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