tripeo: anipintiros

Dutch DJ, producer and Wolfskuil label boss Darko Esser presents his sophomore album, Anipintiros. The eight-track album comes four years after his debut and is his first as Tripeo, the techno-leaning alias he has been working under in recent times. Working as Tripeo has reinvigorated Esser, who under his own name has been producing his unique take on electronic music for a decade now. Tripeo's music is aimed squarely at the dancefloor, and there sure are some full-blooded cuts on the album, but there are also deep, dark passages and more leftfield experiments to help tie the whole thing together into one cohesive and coherent whole. "Like all albums, this is a very personal statement," explains Esser. "It's just me trying to translate the overwhelming inspiration I feel right now into sound. That, and making the record as diverse as possible without losing the purist identity of Tripeo." That identity shines through right from the off on the album, which has been made using a knowing blend of both soft and hardware. "Anipintiros #1" is a firmly-rooted, rubbery bit of deep techno that works you into hypnosis and comes detailed with plenty of otherworldly ambiance. From there, Tripeo explores gallivanting techno run through with celestial pads on "Anipintiros #2" and tripped out, ever shape-shifting and dusty minimal sounds on "Anipintiros #3." "Anipintiros #4" channels the widescreen and pumping techno of Detroit's finest while "Anipintiros #5" is a more industrial and muscular track of the sorts that would sound perfect in the bowels of Berghain. "Anipintiros #6" is one of the busier and more kinked techno rhythms with punchy drums and fax machine-like melodies, before "Anipintiros #7" thumps with real menace and "Anipintiros #8" hums and hisses, spits and stutters like the suitably epic and melodic comedown you need after such a captivating ride. Everything, though, is backed with serene synth-work and an otherworldly sense of alien spirit that runs through all great techno. There is plenty to get lost in throughout Anipintiros and it proves once again that Esser is someone able to coax far more feeling out of his machines than most. Includes CD version of the album.