Mike Shannon

Memory Seed EP Mike Shannon

It’s a long time since Mike Shannon first presented Richie Hawtin with his first dub plate at a Jack party in Detroit way back in ‘96 and although since then he’s gone on to establish himself as one of Canada’s foremost techno producers, there seems to be a strong sense of destiny surrounding this new collection of tunes being released on Plus 8. Either way, Memory Seed is the first EP to be taken from Shannon’s forthcoming Memory Tree LP, containing three varied cuts that perfectly capture the style and direction of this remarkable album. With its long, beatless intro Mercury Mile makes its presence felt amid a wash of static interference and squirming synth riffs, while the molten bass and raw, angular snare lend the groove a cool Detroit-electro flavour. Mix friendly and deeply atmospheric, it’s a handy dance floor tool for breaking things down and spacing things out with its snaking rhythm section and cavernous wash of background effects. Shannon’s natural instinct for combining rhythm and melody will have beads of perspiration breaking out in anticipation before he finally allows the sultry beats to kick in. The X Flex mix of Dr X is a more beat intensive version of the album cut and another flawless example of Shannon’s highly addictive synthetic funk, this time with a raucous, jacking main riff replacing the classic filtered down chord stabs and soft melodic interludes of the original. Shannon downplays the groove during the opening stages allowing the deep, chugging bassline to make full use of the space between the beats. By gradually dropping snares and hi hats in tandem with secondary melodies, Dr X goes through several stages of subtle elevation before the main riff opens up and the rhythm section solidifies into a rough and ready techno shuffle with just enough distortion to stop the beats from boiling dry. Love Fry is one of the pivotal, stand out moments on the album occupying the middle ground between the contrasting musical aspect