Ever since their second album, Temporary Pleasure, James Ford and Jaas Shaw, the duo that make what is collectively known as Simian Mobile Disco have been on a mission: To expose people to delicacies. We're not talking about Frogs Legs here, or pickled herring, we're talking about disgusting, unpleasant techno that is most definitely not for everyone's aural palate. Actually, is for only a few aural palates. This brainchild of theirs yielded a record label, 'Delicacies' and a club night 'Delicatessen'. On Delicacies, SMD have so far released a handful of EPs that have all been named after gastronomic delicacies from around the world and all showcase their new fondness for darker techno vibes.

You can forget about the delicious (and crudely weak) vocal collaborations of Cruel Intentions. You can even kiss goodbye the charmingly addictive techno-pop crossovers in tracks such as Hustler, which remains an unquestionably classic electronic tune to this day. New SMD is for those who stay on the dancefloor beyond 6am, and for those who would have Jeff Mills and Carl Craig among their record collection.

So what can you expect on their club nights? Pretty much non-stop nasty techno beats for the entire duration of the event. This is exactly what we got at Bristol's Motion where sets from SMD, Paul Woolford and fabric's Craig Richards made for an exceptionally exciting night. Motion is a strange but brilliant club. Of course, most know it's a skate park during the day, but this is just the beginning of it's unique personality. The decor is on the shabby side, the dancefloors are tight and dense and the soundsystem is powerful and intimidating. In the Tunnel, SMD delivered a unrelenting barrage of heavy, bassy techno which included old favourites of their own such as Sleep Deprivation, 10000 Horses Can't Be Wrong (one of Temporary Pleasure's few gems), and their recent delicacy Aspic, all of which fueled memorable reactions from the enthusiastic crowd.

Techno stalwart Paul Woolford followed SMD for some more pounding beats and unpredictable twists. But we couldn't keep ourselves from venturing into The Cave where Craig Richards closed the night. It could be argued that Richards stole the show to be quite frank. He was undeniably on top form, keeping the dancefloor moving with surprising amounts of energy for what had been a turbo-charged night. Squelchy, fragile, trippy tech-house was on the menu, blended together with Richards' unequaled ability to maintain beat coherence. Some tracks were more monotone, some were far more ravey, but one thing is for sure, it certainly whetted the appetite ahead of what will be a rather big night for Craig next weekend...

Simian Mobile Disco released the follow up to their debut EP on their new found label Delicacies a couple of weeks ago, showing that despite the sell-out of their previous album the duo still have quite the capacity to orchestrate purring synths and experimental bleeping into full on techno bombs.

This release feels slightly more akin to Nerve Salad from the previous EP, simply due to the more progressively unique sounds that develop throughout the songs. I say unique, I mean it's exactly what we have come to expect from SMD.


Simian Mobile Disco - Casu Marzu


Pick it up on Beatport now.

Simian Mobile Disco are holding their next Delicatessen Event at Motion Bristol on the 8th October.
Guests include Shadow Dancer and the legendary Fabric resident Craig Richards.

Another new record label making it's way onto the techno scene is from a London duo who should need no introduction. Simian Mobile Disco have been producing twitchy techno tunes for quite some time now, their debut album 'Attack Decay Sustain Release' was arguably one of the best of 2007, combining fresh techno bleeps and beats with pop vocals that appealed to a huge audience.

I will admit however that their latest album, Temporary Pleasure, was no such work of art. Fairly weak collaborations all around, with the few decent tracks not doing enough to salvage the rest of the album. They followed up the album with their Extra Temporary EP, which fortunately saw a return to their original pure techno form, the SMD that we knew and loved from 2007.

Delicacies sees SMD continuing in this direction, releasing a selection of 12" over the next few months to accompany their latest club night 'Delicatessen'.

"Delicacies are usually quite disgusting things that are enjoyed by a small group of people. Lots of the music that we listen to fits this description and this label is a forum for us to put out some disgusting music for the few that like that sort of thing."

Sounds promising.

Their first release, Aspic/Nerve Salad, was released a month ago, so sorry for the slow post. For the Boys Noize types there's 'Aspic' on the A-side with powerful rave synths and an acid house feel. But, if you're after something a lot darker grab onto 'Nerve Salad', beating out a proper post-minimalist theme that should find quite a large fan-base.

Simian Mobile Disco - Aspic


Grab 'em both on Beatport now.