With a basic mood of introspection and melancholy, SOP 030 is yet an outgoing album of intricate contrasts: The EME sound has a definite electronic strictness, yet it’s vivid and melodic, the beats are never over-the-top, yet always forceful, this is the timeless sound of techno for brain and body alike.

It’s no secret EME is an alter ego of darkcore/hardcore duo Sound Abuse, and this album is the project’s coming of age after two EPs on Spirit of Progress. Released in two chapters, “Watching the World Go By” is nothing less than a stunning techno production which grows on the listener over the album length:

From start to finish, there’s a steady build-up in tempo – and roughness. Earlier on a more prudent track like “Great Glaciation” let’s you actually hear the sound of drifting ice, and “The Everlasting Synth” is a bit on the playful side; then “Plato & Logos” (schizophrenically featuring Sound Abuse) brings in a new level of roughness, before “The Multiverse” closes chapter 1 with an excursion into space – and a desire for more!