Silent Servant – In Memoriam

Juan Mendez is back on Tresor in Silent Servant mode with another masterclass in techno with a punk attitude. Since the beginning, Mendez has been able to demonstrate powerfully how to join the dots between post-punk, EBM, electro and techno and this EP might be one of the most fluid demonstrations of that attitude. The numbers in the titles hint towards specific years, and ‘M-87’ certainly has a flavour of late 80s Detroit techno sensuality, as if Carl Craig’s earliest BFC and Psyche work was given a dusting up by some cyberpunks. ‘M-90’ has a more electro-tooled backbone, but there’s still a pervading gothic tone to the composition. ‘M-99’ meanwhile heads straight for a broader techno propulsion, albeit carrying plenty of noise along for the ride, and ‘M-00’ loops things up for the most incisive cut on the record.