The Kick Syndicate – Speaker Freak E.P.

I have also just realised that the trippy melodic bit in the A2 track "Assassinator" is from Jean Michele Jarre - Oxygene Part 1.

Or as it was more familiar to me: the music from the Falconhoof sketches from Limmy's Show!

In some ways this could be considered an unofficial Citadel of Kaos EP. It was made one of the same people (A-Sides), released on a Stage One label, and some similarities in style - namely breakbeat hardcore with techno / trance influences. But instead of just complementing pianos & strings - those influences now take centre stage. It's jungle techno - only with harder Euro techno instead of the Detroit vibes of Basement.

"Needle Teaser" is packed full of bubbly analogue sounds, a real heads-down dancefloor tune. "Assassinator" is a bit darker, but with an amazing trippy breakdown in the second half. Even the breakbeats in both are arranged in an energetic, driving way that feels quite techno.

"Voice Sounded London" takes it further, with a 909 kick added to the breakbeat frenzy, with grinding hoovers & eerie bells reminiscent of early 90s Belgian techno (but in a much more frantic form), and extensive use of the classic "War of the Worlds" samples that still somehow work despite being in so many other tunes.

In contrast, the final tune "Metropolitan Avenue" drops the breakbeats for a classic techno sound, with warm strings and a great bleepy riff. Slower than the other three, although still very fast for the style - it complements the manic energy of the rest of the EP wonderfully.

Subsequent releases on Blame Technology were much more on a pure techno / trance tip, which might explain why this EP remains fairly obscure - but for a solid hardcore EP that doesn't follow the typical formula it's definitely not to be ignored.