- You know those ludicrous DJ bios that claim so-and-so was experimenting with freeform jazz by his third birthday? Well, this re-release on Aroy Dee's label comes close to providing a real-life version of such tall tales. The story goes that Terrance McDonald recorded this EP back in 1991 when he was just 16, and then, after a handful of appearances on Djax, faded back into obscurity. While the title track doesn't quite match Ron Trent's "Altered States"—also made by a 16 year-old producer—the bleepy tones, rough and ready kicks and irresistible snare rolls are typical of the Chicago techno that provided the inspiration for everyone from Hardfloor to Neil Landstrumm.
What's more interesting is the fact that one of McDonald's contemporaries from the old days, Steve Poindexter, has done a new version of "Mind over Matter," which irons out the rough edges, accentuates the drum elements and adds an unashamedly day-glo acid line to the track. Stories abound of original Chicago producers either getting ripped off or falling on hard times, so it's encouraging that one of the old guard can still cut it.
But back to the past: The release also contains two other original cuts form 1991 that map out alternate routes for Chicago techno. "Back from Canada" sees McDonald combine moody synths with looser drum patterns, while "Spaced Out" takes this approach further, with out-of-sync beats and cascading snares underpinning bleeps and detuned arcade game riffs. It's possible to hear the link between "Spaced Out" and later work by Scottish producers like Stephen Brown and Landstrumm, but this forgotten piece of primal jack makes them sound tame by comparison.
トラックリスト A1 Spaced Out
A2 Back from Canada
B1 Mind over Matter (Steve Poindexter New Mix)
B2 Mind over Matter