Unquestionably, one of the finest pieces of wax I own, and one of those filthy misfits that fits the odd occasion, yet it's hard to pigeonhole or categorize.The A1 of this record has one of the most stubborn loops I've ever stumbled upon, seconded only by Speak To Me by Regis. Wonderfully uneven, perfectly paced and, uhm, unevenly wonderful. The loop is as incessant as any you'll ever come across, and the shamanistic percussion does it justice.The following tune revolves around razor sharp, ululating highs, that just descend upon the mystical percussion and cut the vastness of the audio field to shreds. It's like the A1 tune without the loop. As though all of its mighty percussive elements were compressed into three minutes and left with the unrewarding task of slicing ear lobes to beef jerky strips...B1 is probably the reason why this record is as sought after as it is. A secret favorite by Jeff Mills, I remember scooping up a copy of this piece of wax as part of a random purchase spree after finding out that I'd had heard it dropped a few times. Ashley Burchett was hardly a house hold name back then.Anyways, this tracks is beyond words. An absolutely relentless groove descends upon layers and layers of constantly shifting and altering percussion patterns. Total madness, it's as though the entire track changes focus, speed and flow every sixty seconds. As unpredictable as this record was when I first heard it sixteen years ago.Which brings me to my conclusion. in 2000, this one sounded like it was beamed down from 2016.In 2016, it sounds like it underwent time travel and arrived from 2000.But then again, it sounds like someone in the far and away 2032 wanted to get all cocky and acquaint us with the cool sounds that are popular in their day and age, and teleported it back to us for our primitive pleasure.Regardless, this piece of wax hinted at the immense talent that Phase is, and if you are slightly bit interested in his sound, I cannot stress just how much do you need to own this record. It's that good, and then some more, but I cannot elaborate upon that, because it just isn't possible to break down music brought to us from the future :-/

tribal techno pushed to its most hypnotic.... that one track in particular.... scary stuff

voodoo top

my fave Cosmic release. i've only got to hear the B1 cut on mixes (Jeff Mills and Francois K) and never in real time, but i can perfectly imagine this just setting things off.

rating fixed!

That is a pretty low vote for your favorite Cosmic release, wouldn't you say? How did yourate the other ones then? One star?You are right about one thing though, this was setting this off at an incendiary rate back in its day...

i first heard this ( a1 ) played by steve bicknell at a burundi/lost night at the end a few months before it came out, it really stood out from all the other tracks he played. absolutley stunning record that has really stood the test of time.

Phase's debut for Cosmic is probably one of the most stunning and original pieces of 'sci-fi' techno that I've ever had the fortune to come across. I'd be hard pressed to find another techno record that features the depth and gravity contained within this piece of wax. B1 is the pick of the bunch, a heavy chugger that throbs along with flashes of cascading drums and futuristic pitches and drones. It's as though Phase has made this with the Lost dancefloor in mind. I can certainly listen/look back with fond memories as musical hypnosis set in when Bicknell dropped this on the floor at Lost.