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Review: Sub Sub - Sub Generation (2002) PALMA001

Sub Sub - Sub Generation (2002) PALMA001

How do you make minimal, industrial techno a funk fuelled, hip-swingin', disco charged sexfest? Simple. Let Sub Sub handle it.

When i saw the name Sub Sub i immediately laughed and thought of the early 1990's act responsible for chart-topper Ain't No Love. The mere fact of the aformentioned is what propelled me to download this album. On the basis of these facts, i was heavily disappointed. But the fact that this album turned out to be an undiscovered gem led me to cry tears of joy one all 69mins and 15secs of it's glorious playtime had finished on my mp3 player.

Besides the Sub Sub connection i wrongly made before, upon discovering this was not that same band-gone-hip, i set about trying to uncover more information on them. All i know is that after extensive research, Sub Sub is/are from Poland and this is the first release on the new label Palma. So in essence this is all brand new to me and i have nothing else to go on besides this. I apologise in advance then for a complete lack of background information!

Now on to the album itself.

Sub Generation is a glorious exploration of minimal techno but given just a small garnish of disco and jazz. Weighing in at a wallet-pleasing 14 tracks with a runtime of just under 70 minutes, you certainly are getting value for money on this release. On first hearing i wasn't quite sure what to make of it. This years other big fave for me was the awesome My Way by AKUFEN; this album has a very similar flavour. Tight, sporadic beats held neatly together by small cuts of sound at varying frequencies; all of this is remarkably well produced and it shows on every single track. Beats, bass, squelches and bleeps are all cued in with exacting razor sharp precision. There is no room for error on this album. Impressive stuff indeed.

The thing that sets this apart from most other works of this genre is the essence of funk and jazz which gives it that extra something to set it apart from the standard we come to expect from such a genre. Hammond and Rhodes stabs mix and blend with funky vocal snippets and miniscule disco cuts and kicks. It all blends together very nicely in much the same way as the AKUFEN album or indeed other works by such revered artists as Circulation, Voice Stealer and Yukihiro Fukutomi.

In essence, this is techno with soul. Not techno with umm...techno. For example, this album is nothing like the stuff you see on Axis or Primate. Or indeed as minimal and traditional as Model 500/Juan Atkins or the Jeff Mills masterpiece Metropolis from a few years back. The whole album has atmosphere. Some parts can lift you up and make you start tapping your foot. Other tracks leave you reeling in fear as hard tech kickdrums scrape and twist and weld themselves together with razor-sharp, nightmare-esque 'voice of the machine' vocals to bring to life your darkest techno-hell inspired nightmares.

Sub Generation is a fantastic album and one i highly recommend to any electronica fan whichever genre you favour. This is a very impressive debut(?) work and one which hopefully will propel Palma Records and indeed Sub Sub to higher plains and critical acclaim. And if all that should fail, they've still got my vote.

Miss this one at your own risk.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10


Standout Tracks:

1. It's Only A Reprise (Trk11)
2. Abstract Soul (Trk7)
3. Damage Voices (Trk14)
4. Ask Him Why (Trk2)


Review Copy:

Sub_Sub_-_Sub_Generation_(PALMA001)-Promo_CD-2002-TR