Comet Plan

Double LP version. Swiss DJ and producer Mirko Loko presents the follow-up to Seventynine, his 2009 debut, catapulting us into the techno and electronica galaxy with Comet Plan. "Un voyage entre toute mes influences," Mirko Loko shares, breaking into his mother tongue to describe the essence of his sophomore long-player, which he conceived in Berlin and later birthed in his hometown of Lausanne after a two-year gestation period. Literally translated as "to travel between my influences," it's a fitting summation of an artist whose work has respectfully mined early inspiration from Detroit and Chicago, drawing on artists who laid the foundations of the emotion-filled productions he has become known for. Loko also sees his connection with Luciano's Cadenza Music -- a relationship that's been in existence since day one, and that has seen the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Thomas Melchior, Pedro, and Rahdoo come together to form one of the most innovative crews in dance music -- as leaving an indelible imprint on his musical DNA. It's Loko's strong sense of musical identity that is at the core of Comet Plan, a work that's equally informed by the artist's spiritual connection with the Motor City as his halcyon Cadenza roots. And one thing's for sure: he knows how to captivate. Take "Venus," whose trickles of melody and syncopated drum rhythms increase in intensity with each bar toward an eerie crescendo. Then there's "U Special," which builds the kind of subtle party vibes you could imagine Luciano dropping to create one of those moments on a heaving, blissed-out dancefloor. On the CD version, "Kolor," the album's early single (also remixed by Carl Craig as part of an excellent EP package), is sprinkled with a dusting of xylophones, chimes, and other bells as the melody is driven forward for a heady trip across the electronic galaxy. "Timeline" sees Mirko enlist visionary pianist and electronic composer Francesco Tristano for an absorbing piano house jam session with a difference before handing the collaborative baton to dOP vocalist Jaw and taking us down a murky, slightly menacing house path with "Danger."