Marco Carola

The first-ever mix CD to come from Napoli's Marco Carola shows no signs of amateurism. After all, Carola is quite familiar with techno, having been DJing at least since 1990, before rolling out his own productions, subsequently establishing a label called Design Music, and recording with Adam Beyer. His selections for Fabric 31 are of the minimal brand, fitted with frequent robotic outbursts and synth bass grooves that wind along subtle clicked beats and pad sounds. Aside from the striking chimes-speckled plods that mark opener "IO" from German producer Matt John, Carola's interest in the more funky side of minimal techno tends to best his ample machine-shop-sounding fare. For "Kicker," a gurgle-ridden standout from Marc Houle on Richie Hawtin's Minus imprint, Carola melds the track's rounded bass pulse into Audio Werner's tumbling "Onandon" with great ease, so that tech funk gets some shine, too. Fabric 31 is seasoned with such moments, but the individuals who usually pass on minimal excursions might want to excuse themselves during this romp, as, for the most part, it's a skeletal mind-rattler.