Objekt – Cactus / Porcupine

Label: Hessle Audio

Cactus

Porcupine

For someone with so few releases under his belt, German TJ Hertz has already made quite a name for himself. This should come as no surprise, however, as on Objekt’s two previous white label releases were some of the most confident, aggressive and powerful dance tracks of 2011. Here he continues in style on Hessle, with a couple of tracks that have been making the rounds for some time but still constitute his best work yet. Objekt’s combination of Garage and Techno is notable not only for its uncompromising aggression but also for its rare vitality, with each of his singles going in innovative directions with a rare immediacy that threatens to destroy dancefloors with every note.

Cactus is the A-side, a hard-bodied tune that you might have heard over the last few months, notably as a threatening centrepiece in Ben UFO’s excellent Rinse mix last year. The track lopes along with a spare Garage rhythm barely containing a monstrous low-end which lends the tune a mean efficiency.  Everything degrades at the first breakdown, the sub-bass speeding to an irrepressible pace before hard acid synths spew out a mechanical rhythm. It’s a stripped-down cut but every detail is flawless, from the rising and falling serrated synths of the latter half of the track to the note-perfect micro-edits and notably the ghostly disappearance of the second breakdown before the bass comes back with a vengeance.

B-side Porcupine is just as dazzling, with hardened drum patterns leading over a woozy synth-bed. Again the sounds on display are stunning in their power and utterly unique, with a couple of distorting basslines making one-off appearances at either end of the track and subtly mixed synths mutating before your ears. If Objekt’s earlier releases didn’t sate your appetite then you’ll find it hard not to be won over by these vicious and vital productions that clearly deserve a place in every DJ’s bag of dancefloor knockouts.

8.5/10