In 2007 Minus label head
Richie Hawtin released a new showcase compilation,
Expansion/Contraction, a seven-song effort featuring fellow acts on the label and other performers such as
Dubfire. The theme of the collection, from the name to the cover art and more besides, claims to be the balance between extremes, and given
Hawtin's own obsessive love for just that kind of compressed, energetic drive in his work over the decades, it's little surprise to see it saluted here (nor that his track, "Risk Assessment," is the leadoff number, a further update of classic
Plastikman minimalism given a growling, dark bassline that emerges fully some minutes into the song). The slight downside of
Expansion/Contraction is an obvious one -- while each number provides its own variety, the basic template suggested by the album (and by the label, to be fair) means a slightly monochromatic listen of generally steady beats, minimal arrangements, and propulsive power. It's all excellent; it's just hard sometimes to sense the great difference between something like "Roundabout" by
Heartthrob and
JPLS' "Isolate," for example. As a result, those moments that do spike the punch are all the more notable, such as the rising and falling swirl on "Porch" by
Marc Houle, which gets more sweetly chaotic as the song progresses.
Dubfire's own contribution, "Emissions," lives up to the collection's title with its first big buildup/breakdown moment being a huge electronic splurge not far removed in impact from a similar moment on "Relax" by
Frankie Goes to Hollywood.