A true original, Steve Rachmad fostered the Detroit techno sound in the Netherlands from 1996 onward. Rachmad’s 2nd full-length album, Neo Classica, landed on Technasia’s Sino label in 2006. Big room techno had been waning in popularity by that era and though experimentation in melding house, techno and elements of trance is evident throughout this album, the tracks themselves remain upbeat, party-ready feel-good in nature and execution. My personal favorite, “A Fabla,” winds through thundering tom sequences and builds to a moment of euphoria with the synth layered one octave up. Hearing this on a club soundsystem feels like a pleasant, welcoming storm approaching and you’re in the right place to soak it in. Pick up this track or the full album digitally on Sino’s bandcamp page.
Jackson Ryland 