Bad Haz Techno Review 002 - Loki's Flyting - Tripple Motion (BE)

Welcome to our second Bad Haz Techno track review by Hegstraction and new guest reviewer, producer, DZM. We have a great track lined up for you, Loki's Flyting, the second track of four on the EP, On a Rocket to the Top, from Belgian techno DJ/producer, Tripple Motion (BE) aka Jens Willems. This EP is the twenty-third release on his own label, Army of Darkness Records. A little background on Jens, he showed a prodigious musical talent from an early age, playing the piano and drums, and the ability to play by ear. Later, he started djing and producing, making appearances at festivals and clubs in Belgium, specialising in dark and heavy industrial techno. For this track, Loki's Flyting, he focused on "rave vibes with industrial influences and dark atmospheres ... blending hard lines."

For this review, I'm joined by new guest reviewer, producer, DZM. If you would like, you can play the track here as you read the review:

H: "Welcome, DZM! Great to have you on board for our second track review. What would you like to start off with?"

DZM: "Thanks for having me. Well, when I first heard this track I thought it was just going to be a very standard 'bish bash bosh' type of techno track, given the intro. But what I really like about it is that it ventures into all kinds of different directions, which I really love."

H: "Right, for me, I like how this track just sets the pace from the start, and the signature moments for me are those Prodigyesque vocals. For hooks, that acid bassline arp gets my attention from the beginning, and then perhaps the vocal stabs - very memorable."

DZM: "Yeah, so those vocals or whatever they are, really get me. Before that, as I said, it sounds quite straightforward, but when those things come in around 2:19, it just elevates the track. What is it, is it a yell, is it a slogan? I do not know, but it adds some mystery and colour to the track."

H: "Agreed. Well, we might as well jump to those vocals right now. There are a few different I presume distorted vocal samples at work here, and they work well giving great atmospheric qualities."

DZM: "Yeah, I love those things. I am usually not a big fan of vocals, but because they are so vague as you say, they add the atmosphere, aggression and mystery. What I think this track also does well is that I can see myself going nuts at this on the dancefloor, but it also works well for just headphone enjoyment!"

H: "Haha, you're leading me off to other topics, but that's fine, we'll get to the kick at some point. I agree. This track is very danceable; the kick, the arp, the percussion, give you choices to move to. Every time I've listened to this, I've been dancing around my studio."

DZM: "It is definitely trance inducing!"

H: "Yep, it definitely has those trance-inducing qualities you're looking for, and I would want this in the middle of a set from the dancefloor perspective. OK, let's go back a step. The kick - nice, weighty, and I think well-measured with respect to the other elements of the track."

DZM: "It's both punchy and sufficiently deep. Nothing to remark on this, but note I am not much of a kick connoisseur."

H: "OK, on to bass. Not a bass heavy track, but the bass from the kick and acid bassline arp combine really well throughout."

DZM: "It's fine; it's not what I particularly love about this track, but it works well enough."

H: "I like all the different percussion coming in and out. Seems thoughtful. Lots of variation giving layers and texture."

DZM: "This is also why the track just grows after those vocals, the percs increase, and there is just way more going on; it feels like the tempo increases. I always love those moments."

H: "Alright, pads! In some circles, you are known as the 'pad' master, whereas, I am just a 'padawan', so I'll let you go first."

DZM: "That's right! I love pads. These are so cool. It makes me a bit envious, because they are so minimalistic, but they just perfectly add to the mystery, which is created by the vocals; I wish I could do that. It's minimal, but it works so well, and this is also what I mentioned before; it takes the track somewhere else because it's very thoughtful and melancholic, which is just my jam, and so different from what you expect when it kicks off with the standard techno elements."

H: "I knew you'd have a lot to say about that! I'll just add that the atmospheric pads coming in just over halfway provide a lovely contrast to the kick and arp - well chosen. Synths-wise, for me, this track is all about that arp, and whilst it's not particularly unique, it is blended in exceptionally well with the other elements of the track."

DZM: "I would point to the pad; it's so subtle, and just does what it needs to do. I think that's great work on the synths. It sounds nice and analog; wonder what it is actually. I was wondering about that sound that comes after the pad. Is that a sample or a synth sound. Whatever it is, it is scary as hell, and works very nicely. I mentioned minimalism above; thinking about that more the whole track is super minimalistic and sparse, which if done wrong just gets super boring, but here it's done well."

H: "Absolutely. As for sound design, it has all the typical techno building blocks done very well too."

DZM: "Yes, it's minimalistic and executed well."

H: "The layering does not seem highly complex, but the choice and execution is clinical, and I love it."

DZM: "It's simple, but functional I would say."

H: "For atmosphere, I think the warped Prodigyesque vocals give this track an aggressive atmosphere at times, where you want to just smash up that dancefloor, and then we also get the contrasting floaty pads, so you get the feeling of a journey taking place in the entirety of the track."

DZM: "This track is all about atmosphere; it has tons of it, and makes it stand out."

H: "I don't have anything in my notes about arrangement. You?"

DZM: "So this is the only part where I have some qualms. Why do the vocals only come in after two minutes? I could have done with less of an intro, but that may be just me. Also, it is a bit of a journey, but it's also all sequential, so there could have been a bit more of a 'coming home' moment, like a drop, or wrapping it up by circling back to a memorable moment. That's probably part of the minimalistic approach though, and it works well enough, but I would have taken this a bit further, and milked the pads and the vocals more."

H: "I think there is a vocal-like synth earlier on, but the longer ones come later as you say. OK, just a few more things to cover. I can't imagine anything different for the mixing; seems spot on."

DZM: "It's sweet. Nothing stands out in a wrong way; we have mentioned the atmosphere, and from a mixing perspective, that is hard to get right. All good, and therefore, infinitely listenable."

H: "As for mastering - no complaints. Sounds great. I measure the LUFS for all promotions, and this was around the average. It has plenty of dynamic range, but still enough punch."

DZM: "I'll trust your judgement, haha."

H: "OK, so let's wrap up with a final comment. Overall, it's a great clubbing track with lots of subtle changes giving variation. I've listened a bunch to this track, and can't imagine getting bored of it anytime soon; I would have a great dance to this in a club."

DZM: "A really nice track; it's minimalistic, but it does not follow standard techno tropes - I love that."

H: "Yeah, Tripple Motion (BE) has a decent size back catalogue, so I'd really recommend checking out the rest of his tracks. Well, DZM, thanks ever so much for joining me. What's your latest release on the go at the moment?"

DZM: "Disparity just got released on the LAZEE DOG label - a melodic techno track."

H: "Great. I'll check it out."

You can check out Loki's Flyting and the whole EP on the following links:

Beatport

Junodownload

Traxsource

Spotify, Apple, YouTube, etc.

You can also find Tripple Motion (BE) on social media:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Thank you for supporting Bad Haz Techno, and we look forward to bringing you more in-depth techno track reviews in 2022.