future beat alliance: collected works 1996-2017

Matthew Puffett, most commonly known as Future Beat Alliance, presents a retrospective of selected works under his most lauded moniker. The name -- taken from an Afrika Bambaataa sleeve -- may have been a nod to the early-80s hip-hop, but the music bore the unmistakable influence of the Detroit techno that had become his obsession. Collected Works 1996-2017 maps an illustrious discography over two decades and is released on the artist's own imprint -- FBA Recordings. The realization of this project follows a three-year period of co-writing, programming, and engineering on UNKLE's album The Road: Part 1 (2017). Pairing impeccable sound design with a penchant for expansive textures, Future Beat Alliance's productions incorporate traces of hip hop, but arrive at a uniquely soulful take on electro and Detroit techno, replete with ecstatic harmonies, mesmeric tones, and sci-fi aesthetics. Collected Works 1996-2017 opens with one of his earliest productions on Void Records: "Intruder" is a utopic dose of abstract electro that hints toward the uplifting, meditative sentiment he was to explore over the next two decades. Early gems, like the broken beat dreamscape of "Eon Link 500" and the otherworldly melancholia of "Almost Human", are offset with stranger still productions, like the blissfully tense "Head Ways" and positively surreal "Lumiere". "Fake Love" takes sun-drenched grooves and contrasts them with animated synth leads, arriving at a transcendent, unearthly state; "Something To Hold" explores this further with glistening scales and nostalgic chords. "Calculated Notes" distorts his positive sentiment with unnerving melodies and stripped back percussion whilst "Without Words" carries his familiarly rapturous sound through new structures. "Dark Passenger" delves into deeper, more ambiguous terrain and is to be featured in an upcoming Hollywood film, All I See Is You, to be released in late 2017. Three 2010 tracks on Tresor remain as bold and diverse as ever, with the hypnotic arpeggios of "Machines Can Help", main room expanse of "Cross Dissolve", and bass-led mysticism of "Endless Blue". "Radio.Seti.Org" embarks on a strange, illusory journey through smooth pads and immersive synths. "Chemical Cloud" is a new production which features swirling reverberations and emphatic melodies. Collected Works 1996-2017 champions an oft overlooked aesthetic in contemporary techno, opting for radiant bliss over darkness and placing the listener in enveloping soundscapes, admirable for their sheer detail whilst never losing sight of the dancefloor. Includes download card.