Secondary Inspection

One repeated hit in time is annoying. Two is a beat. Add three or four more and you have the design of most minimal dance music out there today. Mexican resident and former Nortec Collective member Fernando Corona returns to his more dance-influenced character, after breaking ground with his unflinching attempt to meld classical samples with electronics as Murcof. On the surface, it is minimal as usual, with half a dozen distinct percussive sounds clicking in perfect machination, Corona engaging the clutch just long enough to add or remove another gear in his automation. But similar to equatorial natives Ricardo Villalobos and Luciano, Corona's cowbell hits and conga paradiddles possess a syncopated funk that renders any additional need for melody or hook obsolete in commanding your attention. But perhaps because he has not yet chosen to reside in Europe, Corona's drum strikes offer a much livelier and more colorful tone than the muted drabness of his otherwise contemporaries. On "Secondary Inspection Theme" he shades his full-frontal conga and cymbal wallop with dark tones reminiscent of Plastikman in their foreboding and endlessness. "Vaqueros del Ayers" borrows some fast chirps from Akufen and "Ultra Tumba" speeds up a dub pulse already familiar to fans of Basic Channel. Like the best in his field, Corona takes the methods of his predecessors and adds his own festive yet still nominal percussion, making music that is friskier than most found at this tempo.