I have no idea if a person named Atilla actually exists. If they do, I have no idea if the person is a man or woman, or if the person is even a person. If a person, I have no idea where they live—Portugal, Portland, Portishead? What I do know is that this person or program or alien has a MySpace account and wants to keep his/her identity away from the light of my knowledge.

I also know that this person or program or alien makes techno music and recently released an EP on Backs/ash. The four tracks on this EP never run above six minutes or below three. They all possess (on the melodic level) a warmth that is closer to house but have (at the level of the beat) an edge that owes everything to techno. Put another way: The tracks are made with love (house) and intelligence (techno). From the love (body) we get the warmth; from the intelligence (head) we get the edge.

Atilla, however, does not present the listener with any surprises, any sonic breakthroughs in the manner of Basic Channel or Robert Hood. What this person or program or alien offers instead is a sound that feels complete and polished—in this way Atilla recalls the Ananda Project. When you start a track like "Batik," the music itself knows what it is and how it will go and how it will end. No missteps are made; no waste is produced. This is the confident economics of Atilla's techno.

French fries recommendedrecommendedrecommendedrecommended

hash browns recommendedrecommendedrecommended

instant mashed recommendedrecommended

Pringles recommended