In an already extraordinary year for techno reissues, R&S come through with a complete collection of Mr. YT’s singles on R&S sublabels Generations, Apollo and Global Cuts. Mr. YT is the alias of Yuji Takenouchi, a Japanese producer and composer who released a string of techno and ambient records in the 90s inspired by Ron Trent, Carl Craig and Basic Channel. While his physical output is painfully limited, Takenouchi is an active video game music composer and sound designer, with credits dating all the way back to 1989 and reaching into the more recent Dark Souls franchise. This double LP collects the aggravatingly rare Brand New Day, Southern Paradise and Parfum EPs in full, with an all-new track sequence that posits these 9 spectacular cuts into an hour-long night drive that is as contemplative as it is romantic. Brand New Day demonstrates Takenouchi’s incredible range as a producer, with deftly-executed excursions into New York-via-Detroit garage, ethereal soundscapes and Hardwax-style techno. Six-minute ambient opener “Morning” sets the tone with ultra-deep late night pads and bubbling synth chords. “Nite”, “Afternoon” and “Ocean In Heaven” are some of the finest Detroit techno tracks produced east of the Great Lakes. The highlight, for us, is 10-minute centerpiece “Pacific Jazz”; a slow crawl towards the sublime with infinitely layered pads, strings and percussion weaving over one another. Brand New Day is deep, late night music that reveals itself over repeat listens; a transcendent voyage for the mind and body. Recommended.

• music label: Apollo 2017

reviewed by peanut dust 03/2017