Hallucinator – Landlocked

Here we have another superb album on Chain Reaction, with Hallucinator's "Landlocked", comprising of some of the brightest and darkest moments on the label.

"People" starts off the disc with a melodic, percussive sound that could be compared to The Detroit Escalator Company's material. A similar approach is heard on "Red Angel", "Phebes" and "Dusk", with nice warm ambient sounds and bass.

The Techno tracks "Black Angel" and "Goldcoast" avoid the standard Dub Techno cords and offer a considerably darker counterpoint to the other tracks so far.

"Sethos" and "Moonshot" go for dubwise rhythm and bass, and would have to be among the best tracks on the album.

"Wipeout" and "Recall (Wipeout II)" head into subterranean realms of menacing ambience, before "Rocket" brings back the lush soundscapes along with a raw bassline. "Hallucinator" ends the album with pulsing bass and industrial machine-like sounds working away in the background.

Surely one of Chain Reaction's finest and most unique albums.

Chain Reaction became rightly famous for its combination of three things: techno, dub and ambience. Hallucinator’s _Landlocked_ displays all three in spades. "People" has a mellow quality, even as its rhythm drives things forward, and "Black Angel" brings in some deep, throbbing tones into a futuristic soundscape. Its companion track, "Red Angel," opts for a slight melodic line, but with rhythmical pauses that keep the structure fresh. But Hallucinator also plays with contrasts: the tech spaciousness of “Phebes” gives way to the deep dub of “Sethos” and the kick drum of "Goldcoast." "Wipeout I" is almost pure abstraction, while the short "Rocket" blasts off with a powerful centerpiece bass line. A strong album that’ll keep your attention locked in throughout.

Hallucinator's "Landlocked" is probably my favorite Chain Reaction release (though Vladislav Delay's "Multila" is a very close second). "Landlocked" seems a rather appropriate title for this atypically dense Chain Reaction release.

As opposed to, say, many of the works by labelmates Fluxion & Vladislav Delay, this album is simultaneously dense, driving & ambient. This might seem contradictory, and I think that constitutes most of this album's appeal. Tracks like 'Phebes' & 'Wipeout II' hum along quicker than most ambient even without basslines or beats (think something like Monolake's classic 'Magenta').

While the beatless tracks are engaging & intriguing, the beat-driven tracks 'Black Angel', 'Red Angel' & 'Gold Coast' are the album's most enthralling tracks.

'Black Angel' is a true work of techno artistry, with the beat gradually building in intensity as it slowly emerges out of weaving rhythms. About halfway through said track, (very) minimal percussion and synth work give the track further intensity. The result is a well constructed track that is given lots of time to coalesce into a deceptively involved sonic journey. To where I'm not so sure...

Also of note is 'Sethos', a very strange track given its polyrhythms and choice of non-Western instrument samples used in constructing the bassline and percussion. It evokes images of fat Mongolians stroking their mustaches & eating meat off the bone amid a haze of opium smoke in a tent on the steppes of the Gobi Desert. (As crazy as that sounds, haha.)

All in all, a very enjoyable album if you enjoy dissecting complex, dense, repetitive minimal techno. As with most other Chain Reaction releases, you're probably going to either love it or hate it.