Following several stints at record labels such as Codex Recordings, Set About and Legend, Berlin-based Syrian techno DJ and producer Karim Alkhayat is launching his own techno record label, Architech Records. For its debut, Architech is releasing ‘Take Control’, a six-and-a-half minute techno track, produced by the label’s founder, Alkhayat himself.
As if coming out of distant speakers, soft vocals gently transition into the relatively slow bass that starts off what Architech describes to SceneNoise as “a relentless journey through pulsating beats, complex synths, and an arresting fusion of sounds.”
The vocals, some of which are reminiscent of absentminded side-chats at social gatherings, fade into the shadows, allowing the bass to take center stage just as the sound begins clearing up. Then, almost like an underlying warped whisper of an anthem, Alkhayat teases a set of vocals, out of which we can finally form a sentence - “Let your body take control.”
Although its echoing vocals and outlandish alien-like sounds, which are peppered throughout the track, are perhaps the main attraction, ‘Take Control’ really shines in its moments of near-silent reprieve from the sonic scramble. Alkhayat suspends listeners almost in mid-air before thrusting them right back into the bass-heavy fold, which reaches a crescendo, as the vocals slowly mesh together, bringing the “journey” to a resounding end.
“‘Take Control' is more than a track, it's an experience.” Alkhayat shares with SceneNoise, “And I'm thrilled to be at the forefront of Architech's journey into the techno landscape."
With a soundscape evocative of cinematic depictions of voices in a vortex, ‘Take Control’ might not be everyone’s cup of techno but it is, at the very least, a promising start for Architech, which - as shared with SceneNoise - aims to “provide a platform for emerging and established artists alike.”
