Almost perfect timing for a comeback post, what with 16 Years of FINRG clips appearing daily and the release set for the 25th of this month. Thanks to the FINRG grapevine I knew this compilation was in the works, but lost track of things since the initial murmurings and am as much in the dark as everyone else re. the remaining previews.
Such a strong lineup suggests there is still plenty to look forward to, as the tracks so far are keeping standards very high indeed. There’s also a good range, leaning towards uplifting sounds with a welcome strain of FINRG nastiness. Alchemiist’s Cybernetics might be the best example of that so far, while the return of Cyrez with the excellent Downshifter is my overall favourite at the time of writing. Another very welcome return to production comes from JNKS – The Game Needs Me sounds like a really impressive mixing of his DJing influences.
Notable of course to have such strong Japanese representation from Hyphen, Kokomochi and polaritia – after probably contributing the strongest track to Lucky Lotus’ Before The Dawn I’m excited to see what polaritia’s come up with this time.
Downshifter and Cybernetics have really got it going on! I’m on the fence about the rest: Purify would probably be my favorite of the previews if not for the post-breakdown section, and Sanctuary Infested sounds too much like “Nomic but without Nomic”…I’ll keep my hype in check, but Cyrez making a return to form is good news in any case.
I have to agree with you re. Sanctuary Infested, but polaritia’s getting closer than anyone and that’s an achievement! The piano’s always the make or break element, isn’t it?
Fuji’s still to come of course, and even if it’s not the Alek of old I’ll be very glad to see that getting a release.
I didn’t especially notice the difference in the piano use compared to the synths; that slightly-gritty Nomic sound always added a lot to the emotion in his tracks for me. I think one of the main obstacles new producers face (and will continue to face) is finding a sound that’s characteristic of them or at least unique to their style rather than straight out of the box, something I’m realizing more and more I took for granted about the Finnish and Japanese pioneers…you’re right that he’s come close to a sound we all love, so it might only be a matter or time before we see some new elements that put him at the top of the current scene.