Claro Intelecto: When The Time Is Right / Round & Round
Modern Love

Though it feels as if the last Claro Intelecto 12-inch from Mark Stewart appeared mere weeks ago, When The Time Is Right / Round & Round actually turns out to be the first new 12-inch from the man in over half a year. Once again we're treated to sumptuous fusions of dub-techno and experimental house which one might expect to find ultimately compiled in full-length CD format a year or so down the road. After a twilight section where off-beat chordal stabs echo and flicker into the distance, Stewart stokes the surging pulse in “When The Time Is Right” to a churn, with the intensity subtly swelling and de-compressing by turn. The nearly nine-minute track gradually grows into an indomitable colossus of clanging chords and snaking house rhythms until a few subdued moments clear the decks for an episode of charging rhythm chatter and aquatic dub chords and whip lashes. Slightly less head-spinning in design, the B-side's “Round & Round” resurrects old-school techno moves by sprinkling melting chords and phrases over a chugging 4/4 pulse. Showers of ringing percussion patterns, gunshot handclaps, and a driving groove fill the air while that trademark Claro Intelecto bass throb threatens to crush everything in its path. “When the time is right” indeed.

February 2009