Bleep

Magazine (Barnt, Cologne Tape) press three tracks from Cologne party-veteran Mattes Schwarz. Known as ‘Stecken-Mattes’ in his home city due to his long affiliation with the Stecken venue, Schwarz plumbs ‘I Don’t Know’ with forty years (!) of DJ know-how. The result is three imperious, confident rollers that blur the boundaries of house, techno and electro. The title cut sees a snare-heavy drum track and minor-chord-pedal underpin some Kraftwerk-indebted synth work. ‘There Are Secrets’ is a propulsive, vaguely ominous piece of slasher-techno. Most interesting is the 10-minute ‘From The Distance’, a piece equal parts Tresor, Paradise Garage and Detroit’s Music Institute.