Lee van Dowski & Dean Demanuele – Function is Tension

Label: IntactoRelease: Out Now 

Shinedoe’s Intacto label has long been held up as one of the best such labels in the tech-house domain, so it’s only natural that the Amsterdam native turns her attention to Lee van Dowski & Dean Demanuele for the label’s latest number. ‘Function is Tension’ is the release in question, and just like its arresting title suggests, it’s not really one for the feint of heart.

Up first on the EP is the title track, a pulverizing and sparse take on modernist techno that sticks to a rugged script. Dark, ominous and most definitely dangerous, it’s propelled by tougher-than-thou beats and a general sense of unease that’ll make it work wonders on the floor. ‘Foo Gas’ is just as gritty and dirty, with the action this time centered around a rollicking face of deranged percussive elements. Eerie and disquieting, it explodes into life around the midway point when it momentarily veers left of centre and is the highlight of the package here.

‘Calamity John’ injects a sense of purpose and energy back into proceedings, with its colourful loops and party-starting energy very much the ying to ‘Foo Gas’’ yang. In all, a serious series of cuts from a duo who we’re really beginning to hold dearly.