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CD
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LOVE 052CD
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Manchester-based Mark Stewart (aka Claro Intelecto) presents all five of his acclaimed Warehouse Sessions series 12"s compiled on CD, including a bonus track. Designed, honed and tweaked for the floor, the Warehouse Sessions began in 2006 and shifted focus to Claro's darker edge: minimally-constructed, full-bodied, deviant 4/4 variations with the headier end of the warehouse in mind. "Thieves" opened the series with a full-bodied assault on midnight -- a dark clunk of deep, padded techno underpinning impossibly widescreen emissions, a relentless attack formation guided by soulful machinery executed through the tightest production imaginable. "New Dawn" rotated on a heavy slug of post-industrial genius, taking the metallic clunk of Monolake slowed right down and married with the faint ghost of Rhythm & Sound. "Trial And Error" opened volume two with a filthy modification of house presets re-wired with a crushed square bass line turned into something positively sleazy. "Signals" applied the same contaminated aesthetic to a more robust techno pattern -- a rolling tumble of kickdrum and snare, mutilated by a metallic screen that squashed the track into a very dark corner, only to be illuminated by patient, distant keys. "X" dominated volume three and is perhaps the best-known track in the series -- a gargantuan blast through a barely-contained 4/4 spasm, underpinned by distorted stabs and thumping kick-drums. A live session of warbling dub stabs are fed through a widescreen echo-chamber, making for a low-end psychosis that's just devastating. "Only Yesterday" was written in homage to Mr Fingers, a slow, deep, pulsating house classic, utilizing a sick, padded bass progression, caressed by pristine hi-hats and very little else. "Instinct" opened volume four with a percussive spine so crisp and spacious, it astounded all who heard it upon first listen. Meanwhile, "Post" pushed it deeper with sparkling keys and an endlessly cavernous bass line, venturing into a classic breakdown that brought those keys back. The fifth and final installment opened with "Hunt You Down," a shocking Maurizio-style dub workout in 4/4 with a relentlessly sharp and deep signature, accompanied by stretched chords and metallic shards. "Momento" ended the series with metallic stabs and an impossibly weighty bass drum, like a classic Chicago warehouse track modified with added low-end pressure -- a slow, slinky, fitting end to the series. The final edit included on the compilation, "W6," is an excerpt from a longer track taken from the same sessions, available only on this format.
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