Ken Ishii: Flatspin

There are at least two ways to look at Flatspin, the latest release from Japanese DJ and composer Ken Ishii: as a collection of minimal techno tracks destined for dancefloor greatness, or as a collection of songs that might not fit on any dancefloor mix, but fit nicely anywhere else. It’s been that way for a while with Ishii. Like Moby, he expands the boundaries of what can be considered dance music. Unlike Moby, he sticks to what he knows best.

What Ishii knows best is techno. The focus is on BPMs, bleeps and buzzes. He can stick to a driving yet understated groove that easily puts him on par with any of the Detroit masters such as Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson — DJs whose missions are an uninterrupted sonic journey that plays out like a jet flying low in complete darkness. And yet Ishii’s just as prone to shed some light on the flight, adding burst and loopy rhythms that shine through the beats like sunshine through clouds.

Ishii wastes no time letting the sun shine through, as it does on the instant classic “Iceblink”, which starts with a junkyard clang and crescendos with a haunting synthesis of Japanese-tinged synthetic strings. Another mix of the same track replaces the steely undertones with a lilting vocal that could melt the iciest techno mix.

Yet “Iceblink” is the most accessible track on the album, and it’s easy to see why DJs outside of Japan have had a tough time incorporating Ishii’s soundscapes into their own mixes. The beats rarely drop out entirely — though “Grab It Attack It” is too boingy for its own good — but the way he builds the beats would make it tough to match with other tracks in a standard Detroit or German mix. “Infrangible” is founded in a massive power-down/power-up juxtaposition that’ll make you want to dance even when you’re sitting at your computer. “Drums in Friction”, has an equally massive tribal thump-and-hum. But most DJs would probably have to build an entire mix around either of these songs just to fit them in. Ishii’s nonconformity is too much work for most DJs.

As its own CD, however, Flatspin makes for great listening. “Mirage” is a dubbed out drifter that comes perfectly in the middle of the CD. “Moonquake” is a jolty spacewalk with a classic techno vibe. And “Sneaking Shadows” (an Asian bonus track), with its suave organ and chirpy flute loop, sounds like official driving music for international spies everywhere.

Full-length, non-mix albums aren’t the best medium for many dance DJs. Some can’t fill an entire album with tracks worth hearing. For others, full-lengths can prove that they should stick to mixing and leave the composing to those who are best at it. Ken Ishii can live in both worlds. He’s at the forefront of internationally known DJs and he’s an experimental composer who doesn’t limit his musical pedigree to tracks that would fit in other DJs’ mixes, let alone his own.