Juan Atkins & Moritz Von Oswald – ‘Borderland’ 3×12″ [Tresor]

Due to drop next month, and getting plenty more hype along the way, comes an openly collaborative effort between Moritz Von Oswald and Juan Atkins. Coming out on Tresor across 3×12″, this one’s been doing the digital promo rounds pretty heavily, popping up everyone’s radio show including our last Awkward Movements on NTS.

Not sure what we expected from such a heavyweights; Godfather of Techno,”the originator” Juan Atkins working his futurism in to the sparse dubbed out structures of Moritz Von Oswald, the German counterpart who’s possibly pushed electronic forms of club music more than anyone since. Neither’s ever disappointed completely, and both have stayed relevant in the live scene and in the studio for decades rather than years. So yes, expectations are high.

But to be honest, I doubt we’d be talking about this album if it was anyone else besides Atkins and Von Oswald. Some of the tracks sound like the 120bpm fluff that used to appear on the Ministry Of Sound Chillout Sessions in the ’90s, dodgier versions of tunes that could have been / were once good. By the third or fourth time it’d gotten a full play though, the moments of brilliance between these really stuck out.

Definitely more on the Von Oswald tip for structure, the genius is where the two artists really come together; almost like fleeting moments where Atkins was allowed to touch the controls. The Roland drum machines that helped define Juan Atkins’ early work come through heavy harsh over the spacial strings and minimal compositions, working with the dubbed out vibes from the Von Oswald side of things and heavily laced in the jazz elements that are so important to both producers’ sounds.

Footprints‘ is a definite watershed for the quality tracks, and the seven and a half minute ‘Treehouse‘ makes me feel like I’m sixteen and smoking weed again (which is a good thing). Again, moments of brilliantly colliding worlds that make the whole record worth listening to.

After a while I was reminded of the Moritz Von Oswald and Carl Craig collaboration during the ReComposed series, where they reshaped classical pieces for a proper favourite LP. I hadn’t even thought about this record in years, but pulled it out straight after. Unlike Borderlands, it remains heavily on point the entire way. As a result, I can’t help but think that give Moritz Von Oswald any decent Detroit producer and he’ll shape it around his own sound with a masterclass in studio work.

Worth picking up, as the tracks that come together are properly ones you want in your bag. Big ups Juan Atkins and Moritz Von Oswald for a ballsy collaboration that produced some dope results. A few favourites below, jacked from youtube, press release just under that.

via Tresor
After more than two decades of behind the scenes collaboration – Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present Borderland – their debut collaborative album to be released this summer on Tresor Records.

The album – made up of 8 sequences, which seamlessly blend the styles of both masters – was recorded at the beginning of 2013 over various studio sessions in Berlin and will be released as a series of three 12″s and a CD album.

The record gives common voice to two independent yet mutually supporting musical journeys, achieving a singular expression of club-orientated electronic music and the freedom of organic musical experimentation.