Claro Intelecto - Second Blood EP

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5...according to our Brian on Fri 09 Mar, 2012.

Phil says it's an old-skool review day for me. Why? Oh, Claro Intelecto and Venetian Snares are in my pile. It's 2003 all over again. What has old Mark Stewart being creating these days? Oh, going down a similar route to fellow traveller Andy Stott and slowing everything down to two-third speed BPMs so you can grind more seductively on the dancefloor. 'Second Blood' is a long, languid atmospheric piece of dreamy slo-house with some gorgeous glacial synths that gaze out onto a distant horizon. Flip over for two more excellent numbers on this red vinyl offering for the esteemed Delsin, 'Heart' being a dubby, intimate burner with evocative suspended keys that is sure to get the lovers entwined wherever they may be, bed, kitchen, garden, nightclub nookery or aeroplane toilet. A deep, pulsating marvel of a tune. 'Voyeurism' is more on a dreamy mid-tempo techno tip, still as lush and sensual as the other tracks with bags of atmosphere and and subtle evolution throughout. This is some of the sweetest work I've ever heard from him, less minimal than a lot of the Modern Love stuff he was doing a few years ago, proper classy and richly textured.

Since emerging in 2003, UK producer Claro Intelecto has pursued the deeper side of techno, and now makes his Delsin debut with a three track EP entitled ‘Second Blood’, which precedes the release of his new album for the label in March 2012. With a discography which includes a number of 12”s, EPs and full lengths on A.I. and Modern Love, Manchester man Mark Stewart is known for dropping bomb after bomb, with these new efforts being no different. First up, the title track ‘Second Blood’ is a lazy, scuffed and romantic sounding deep dub cut that lurches from one beat to the next with a laconic smile and soft eyes. Plenty of echo and reverb have it drifting off into the distance as warm pads and rising strings add subtle tension. Another slow roller but this time with brighter melodic flashes, 'Heart' is just as lateral, dubwise and soothing as the title track, melting your mind into a dreamy state of hypnosis before 'Voyeurism' lifts you out of your trance with a firmer kick drum, more cutting claps and groove that bounces a little more than it rolls. Some taught acid notes appear eventually, rounding off a cerebral, dead of night EP made as much for home listening as it is gentle Sunday afternoon comedowns. Essential stuff.