Artist: Mutant Clan
Title: Inside / Outside
Label: Sci + Tec Digital Audio
By: Andrew Rowland | 2 February 2009
Tracklist:

• 1. Inside
• 2. Outside

Mutant Clan "Inside / Outside"

The rather mysterious Mutant Clan, upon closer investigation, consists of Germany’s Timo Maas and Italian Santos. This, their second release, having debut with ‘Kenesai’ on Frankfurt’s Connaisseur Recordings, comes courtesy of the fast rising imprint SCI+TEC Digital Audio.

SCI+TEC is the brain child of Deep Dish’s Dubfire and is hardly recognisable in sound with the duo who, at the height of their success a few years back, stormed the commercial charts with hugely successful commercial crossover ‘Flashdance’. The label does however reflect more the sound of Dubfire’s DJ sets over the years as he was always something of the prince of darkness in favouring the darker tribal US house sound when cut loose by him.

Of the two tracks making up this release, ‘Inside’ has an edgy sound to it. It’s a slow burner whose tribal feel in terms of rhythm actually almost pays homage to the aforementioned darker house sound and the releases that used to surface through the Yoshitoshi label. It’s spacey sci-fi FX and synth squelches growl away in the background leaving the listener feeling almost tripped out.

’Outside’ in contrast, is more groove based with its shifting percussive patterns. It also packs more warped FX into the mix than its sparser counterpart. Underpinning the track throughout is a bass riff so repetitive in nature it’s to the point of sounding almost irritatingly dull. I would personally have preferred a bit more invention here.

Overall this is a solid release with nothing immediate about either track that jumps out and hits you in the face. They’re more the kind that will keep a set ticking over. Both tracks will appeal to the minimal purists out there and the established fan base of SCI+TEC. As a label, it’s certainly come a long way in a short space of time with a growing roster of artists having already made a big impact on the scene to date.