Plastikman
EX

Reconsidering one's opinion about a work is an act with a dual effect: on one hand, there's undoubtedly a certain annoyance at having questioned one's own judgment criteria, but to err is human, and reconsidering helps to improve and better understand things. Moreover, a review with the value of a retrospective (after all, we're talking about a work from 2014) helps to break free from those instantaneous and not always beneficial sensations. At its release, I refused to review "EX" by Plastikman, the long-awaited return of Richie Hawtin's minimal-techno-ambient moniker after years of unjustified absence. Even though, in reality, it's impossible to encapsulate this type of music in a genre, he invented the genre from scratch, remaining the foremost, if not sole, exponent.

After attentively re-listening to "EX," free from that annoying urgency that unconsciously takes hold after the eleven years since "Closer," one can finally comprehend the essence of a neo-futuristic masterpiece (compared to what? who knows) represented by this album, recorded as a live event and surprisingly glorified by its inherent imperfections. Indeed, it's a bit little and was even at its release, but not due to the depth of the work itself, rather for the collateral frustration caused by the fact that one never hears enough of this type of material, and that's not good. Despite everything, "EX" is another step forward in Plastikman's library, something still different from "Closer." Here, there are no voices to add a human touch to the cold machines, but it is the music itself that has taken on a curious twist. The seven tracks/movements represented by the album - all starting with the letters EX - are structurally more complex than in the past, partially betraying the same minimal concept in the techno realm coined by Hawtin. Yet, everything is extraordinarily coherent in hindsight; it's not a betrayal, but an evolution. The acidic line of the Tb-303 is still in place but used atypically and almost always accompanied by unexpected synth textures that create a certain pathos within the aseptic and supersymmetric coldness of the composition.

"EX" nevertheless continues the Plastikman discourse in its entirety, despite the new concessions. The atmosphere is always dark and mysterious, the program alienating in its dilated parentheses. EXtend is a sinuous opening with the value of a manifesto, ten minutes at a martial pace that see the rediscovery of the four-beat, ambient techno at its highest expression. The 303 is atypical, making a lazy appearance in the first part, as if wanting to control the evolution of events before fully entering into action. The synths are almost suffocating and contribute to creating a magnetic "mare magnum." The same formula continues with EXpand, it's nothing that hasn't been heard before from Hawtin; in fact, it's clear to recognize references to previous works, but even in this case, the synths offer new keys of interpretation, creating entirely new tension. But as always, the best is left for last, with two really memorable tracks: EXpire is the best track of the album and truly shows us the newest side of the Plastikman project: without using a drum machine, but only hats and a driving combination of 303, Hawtin creates an evolving micro-universe, with overwhelming pathos sublimated in the final ascent; it's a sort of journey towards sensory extinction that can only end in a digital supernova. After the planned chaos, we plunge into the exhaustive EXhale, more than ever the concept of prog transferred into the world of Plastikman: a dark negotiation between bassline, drum machine, and acidic lines anticipates a much broader discourse, with a perceptible compositional evolution that truly ennobles this type of music. The presence of synths is still very strong and takes full field in the final minutes, transforming the formula into pure ambient expression, bordered by a 303 line that at this level has assumed almost an acoustic delicacy. Magnificent.

"EX" is absolutely an album to reassess; perhaps at its release, it was excessively criticized for mannerism and accused of the syndrome of too little too late, but it's difficult to talk about obsolescence when there's no temporal reference or real competition. The Plastikman universe moves on parameters detached, established by himself; all we can do is contemplate it, trying to find a logic that is always, in its systematically unfathomable nature, subjective. And that's the beauty of this project. I am very happy to have changed my mind, but please dear Richie, don't make us wait another ten years!