As One

The Brits are known for taking American dance music and putting their own spin on it, but techno has always maintained a Detroit-Berlin axis — which is why UK techno hero Kirk Degiorgio remains somewhat of an obscurity here, despite a dozen years of acclaim and five full albums. Under his As One moniker, Degiorgio specialises in a synth-laden form of deep techno, combining the joys of vocal house, the sincerity of soul and the sleek ferocity of techno. But his music goes beyond that, especially on this Ubiquity artist album, roaming through gospel-techno, ambient micro-house, synth-y broken beat, vocal-led nu-jazz and even some credible hip-hop (with rhymes courtesy of Atlanta MC Lacks, a staple of Carl Craig’s hip-hop sub-label). He also covers Herbie Hancock and jazz-funk pianist Weldon Irvine, pinches vocalists from the Prodigy and Detroit Experiment and infuses old-school soul into everything he touches. The thread connecting these genre leaps is As One’s post-post-9/11 optimism (it was originally called Into the Darkness until he cheered up some), stellar keyboard work and a production style that’s chill enough to couch to, quick enough to groove on and great enough to make you wonder why you haven’t been listening to As One for years.