Wata Igarashi & Polygonia

The twenty fourth transmission from RYC comes courtesy of not one, but two artists we greatly admire. Joining forces on a split truly like no other, Japanese maestro Wata Igarashi and Munich's own multi-faceted genius Polygonia step up with the magnetic 'Cross Passage' - a four-track journey at the junction of their respective universes, teleporting us straight to a propulsive, mind-expanding headspace as we're invited to explore sonic territories still uncharted and harmonics yet unravelled.

The collaborative A-side begins with the dynamic title-track, 'Cross Passage', a proactively future-facing number packing the kind of utopian drive that used to define the original techno sound. A highly cinematic narrative boasting Detroit-style vision and epic breath, 'Cross Passage' builds bridges between hi-tech elation and organic integration, transcending mere functionality to push back and expand the limits of techno as a deep communication vessel between the individual and the mass. Firing off like a binary script gone astray, 'Fibre Axis' takes us on a further bumpy ride across shape-shifting interfaces and blurred-out digital scapes, via abrupt pixel landslides and fractured 3D renderings.

Side-B finds each producer dishing out a slice of his/her own musical idiom. Polygonia strikes first with the pulsating 'Voltage Blues' - a mesmeric roller cut from pure eerie synth algebra, boundary-pushing abstraction and surgical but experimental-leaning rhythmic assault. The result is a piece of cutting-edge techno hoodoo, ready to take on clubs with utmost abrasive swagger. Sniping a hail of rainbow-like analogue synth outpour, Wata Igarashi's solo contribution 'The Tunnel Dreams' rounds off the journey on a fiercely nonconformist note. Merging a hard-hitting main swing with 8-bit-esque audio pointillism and brooding bass undertones, the Japanese producer cuts a path of antigravitational abandon and relentless rush towards absolving euphoria, which shall leave all in the room levitating somewhere between sheer daze and love-thirsty XTC.

*Clad in the sleekest cover art courtesy of designer Atact, RYCL024 is pressed to red & white marbled vinyl for you, fancy platter collectors and picky audio-visual aesthetes alike.

• 1 Wata Igarashi & Polygonia - Cross Passage
• 2 Wata Igarashi & Polygonia - Fibre Axis
• 3 Polygonia - Voltage Blues
• 4 Wata Igarashi - The Tunnel Dreams