A new frontier of black machine music

Of the Burden brothers from the second generation of Detroit techno, Lenny and Lawrence make their debut at Contact as Octave One. The brothers describe the project as harmony between music and soul while their another pseudonym Random Noise Generation acts as its counterpart, releasing chaotic energy. Recent years have seen these two sides of a coin blurring the boundary and striking a fine balance between passionate melodies and rugged funkiness that goes beyond the confines of techno and house, all based on years of experience spent honing their live performance with hardware. Indeed, it represents the indomitable will of the duo, who have been exploring the frontier of black machine music of Detroit, culminating in last year’s Burn It Down, their first album in seven years. And finally, the two missionaries land in Japan. A Japanese techno pioneer who has channeled his influence from Detroit techno to his own takes, Ken Ishii steps up to support their mission alongside Hiroshi Watanabe, a producer Derrick May gave a seal of approval to let his album out on Transmat, and Detroit techno aficionado Naoki Shirakawa.