Search - Martinez :: Chemical Imbalance

This is the second full-length record by Copenhagen-based Martinez. It's been almost 2 years since the release of his debut album Internal Space on Out of Orbit. During those two years, Martinez's sound has developed and progressed into the more mind-bending and tweaked out fields of minimal techno music -- more stripped-down and focused on fewer elements rather than a lot of melodies and hook lines. With this new aesthetic in mind, he started the Re:connected sub-label of Out of Orbit, focused on quality minimal techno from the darker and freakier side of life. The first two releases got massive feedback from major players on today's dance music scene, such as Ricardo Villalobos, Miss Kittin, John Digweed, Dominik Eulberg, Richie Hawtin and Sven Väth. With such a success, Martinez decided to go into the studio and focus fully on this project. After a few more months of experimentation, A Chemical Imbalance was finally produced. Martinez chose to present the CD version of this album as a continuous mix, for the sake of flow and feeling. A Chemical Imbalance is mainly driven by the trademark sound of Re:connected. You'll find it in tracks such as "Tuna Belly" and "La Macchina," with their rolling hypnotic rhythm and bleepy metallic sounds. The album also includes the two mini-hits from the first 12" singles, "Sinus Wave" and "Land-Crab," which have a more shuffle-driven beat and strong, off-key pads. But for a change, Martinez also adds some elements from his early influences of deep house with the track "Lowdown," which is clearly a tribute to the classic Chicago imprint, Guidance Recordings. Its lush and laid-back pads lay out a deep but uplifting atmosphere to the otherwise dark and tweaked-out soundscape of the album. There are also some trippy experimental dub grooves on this record on tracks like "The Turtle-March," with that weird voice coming in and its tripped-out percussion groove flowing on top of a heavy sub-bass. A Chemical Imbalance offers lots of different moodswings between genres like ambient, minimal, techno, deep house and tripped-out dub elements, within a nicely-anchored continuous mix. This is the perfect album that works as a soundtrack to your everyday life.