Plastikman & Chilly Gonzales

★★★★ Consumed In Key TURBO RECORDINGS. DL/LP

Minimal techno landmark gets haunting, jazz-flecked reboot.

In 1998, esteemed techno DJ Richie Hawtin released a Plastikman album that both altered how he himself was perceived and helped shift techno’s image in broader terms. Consumed was visceral, seductive, minimal dance music. Hawtin’s Canadian compatriot Chilly Gonzales first heard it on its 20th anniversary. The pianist found it both challenging and inspirational alike, making sense of it by composing his own accompaniment. After telling DJ and Turbo label head Tiga about his project, the latter worked on making it an official release. The result is

Consumed In Key, with Hawtin on board, mixing Gonzales’s contributions. Saturnine opener Contain now has a ghostly chill. Cor Ten was originally redolent of dub techno pioneers Basic Channel. Here, strings add menace – an alternative Godfather theme. And on the hypnagogic title track, Gonzales’s repetitive phrasing creates a complementary, mesmeric loop of its own. More than just frivolous embellishments, Consumed In Key is a standalone work of art.