Wet Ink

Just as a number of broken beat producers were about to retreat further into contemporary R&B and neo-soul for inspiration (New Sector Movements and DKD in particular), Archive and 2000 Black vet Domu shacked up with fellow producer Shifty to make Wet Ink, an album that puts an early-2000s spin on the type of mid-'90s breakbeat techno dished out by Kenny Larkin, Carl Craig, and honorary Detroiter Kirk Degiorgio. To no surprise whatsoever, the album was released on the Netherlands' Delsin, a label that has built its respected catalog around this type of thing. Wet Ink also falls into what has become the Delsin tradition of releasing durable and enjoyable full-lengths that aren't quite masterpieces. By no means is that intended as a back-handed compliment, because there's enough on Wet Ink to sink your teeth into. "Vajra" begins as a synthesis of Theo Parrish's and Moodymann's techier moments, with dulled-out thumps and ambient crowd noise, but it evolves into oddball techno worthy of the spacier moments from 4hero's Creating Patterns. "Dam-Age" revisits the quicksilver drum'n'bass of Parallel Universe-era 4hero until closing with a minute and a half of soft, bumping rhythms. The levitational "Karma Soup" is the most moving of all, levitating with pulsing high hats, synthetic string vapor, and a supple but spare electro bassline. While there are no poor productions on the album, a few undistinguished tracks don't merit much more than background listening; that is what prevents this fine album from being truly spectacular.