- The new Berghain resident steps up to the club's home label.
- Hayden Payne's records package the lunging ferocity of EBM and industrial into a sound you could loosely describe as techno. His debut album, The Redeemer, and last year's EP on Unterton, were heavy but also quick on their feet. They earned Payne plenty of new fans in the techno world, and he's since become a resident at Berghain, the highest form of street cred any techno DJ could receive. He's managed all that without dulling his music's sharp bite or feverish energy, which carry over to his first release for Ostgut Ton.
"Reverse Fall" and "Blackbox" both suit the sound of Ostgut Ton, especially the title track's stormy chords. But the ambiance changes with a synth that sounds like it was ripped from an old Skinny Puppy track, while a pacy snare-hat pattern offers the kind of EBM thrills we associate with Payne. The same goes for the drum programming on the more meditative "Empty Whip." And lest you think Payne's gone big room, there's also "Incision," which sounds like a Downwards track slowed to a grinding squirm. Even here, Payne's percussion feels lively and forceful.
TracklistA1 Reverse Fall
A2 Incision
B1 Blackbox
B2 Empty Whip