In his early teens, Martin Schacke played in punk bands. That is hardly an unusual starting point for a young person looking for a musical outlet, but you sense the Danish artist has carried a little of that rip-it-up-and-start-again attitude throughout his subsequent musical developments. That is certainly present in the noise and techno he makes now, as Schacke.
One of a loose collective of figures in Copenhagen exploring the potential of 130bpm and upwards, Schacke creates music that is both brutal and graceful, which applies ideas of speed and decay to create something that sidesteps throwback sounds and expectations. The title track of his EP for Ectotherm, Make Them Remember, was a coruscating, take-no-prisoners stomper embellished with rave synth arabesques that demanded to not be taken too seriously.
Now attached to Courtesy’s new imprint Kulør, a platform explicitly designated to support and nourish Copenhagen’s fast techno scene, Schacke provides the opener to their inaugural label compilation Kulør 001. Automated Lover is a track that lives up to the label name, loaded with sonic vibrancy and idiosyncratic prettiness.