Merck sublabel Narita delivers its swan song in the form of the compilation Terminal, showcasing some of the best unreleased tracks from its usual suspects. Anyone's who's heard previous Narita releases knows what to expect: hard-hitting techno tinged with experimental sounds. It felt to me like Narita didn't have enough time to say what it wanted to say about current techno music. There's something very compelling about experimental electronic producers' takes of dancefloor music, an idea Warp developed and abandoned with its Arcola sublabel and something I was hoping Narita would pick up the slack on. Early releases hinted at the true genius to come from the collision of techno and IDM, but sadly, beyond a few great singles and a couple albums, Narita never developed into the influencer on the genre it could have been with more time, and perhaps that has to do with it coming from the States and not Germany or the UK. Even so, what we did get out of Narita were a bunch of fresh takes on dancefloor music, and ideas that could linger on or develop more in the hands of other labels as these talented artists move on.

Anders Ilar comes back with an intelligent minimal techno album, full of ambient and glitch elements that compliment the ongoing groove in every single way. And I guess it wouldn't be fair to file Sworn under minimal techno. After all, the only stylistic hint at that category is its four-four beat, and not on every track. The rest of the music is as close to techno as was The Last Resort by Trentemøller (I mean that in a good way). And I don't just accidentally mention that name. The production and experimental IDM touch, which Anders Ilar is so proficient at, indeed reminds me of Trentemøller's excellent work. And it shouldn't be a surprise. The Swedish producer has considerable output behind him on many excellent labels, such as Shitkatapult, Audio.nl, the dearly missed Merck, and its offshoot, Narita. The latter mentioned label survived its parent only by a year and a half, announcing the news that during late summer of this year (2008), it will release its last compilation, sadly titled Terminal (although it also fits within Narita's nomenclature relating to the Tokyo airport). Meanwhile, its last release this past April was none other then a collaboration between Anders Ilar and Fredrik Hedvall, titled Melt. Ilar's 2006 LP on Merck, Ludwijka, and its extended release in 2007 on Shitkatapult should serve as an excellent base and a great predecessor to Sworn. I usually begin my Ilar playlist with the former and end it with the latter, and I recommend you do the same. This is a great [re]discovery!

Shitkatapult re-releases and expands the limited edition 12” Ludwijka on now defunct Merck into album length. This release sees Anders drifting closer to IDM rather than Techno, and doing so in convincing fashion. Ludwijka’s beats are dense, but the melodies carry the weight to coincide with them for a captivating listen. The moods drift from serene to menacing and back, creating a turbulent journey. For fans of the Sending Orbs label for sure.