Sam GreenwoodFrom the archive and in complete surprise, there’s a new Regis EP about to drop next month, as ‘EPM Music’ round off their 20 year anniversary 4th instalment in style, with Regis’ ‘Beyond the Reach of Time’ EP.
UK techno Don, Karl O’Connor (aka Regis) has remained a maverick and iconic figure on the global techno stage, ever since his ‘Montreal’ EP burned his name across the world’s dancefloors some 25 years ago. His unconventional and single minded label, Downwards, often shrouded by mythology, has also helped to launch fellow hero Surgeon, as one of techno’s most revered DJ and producers.
Regis is also well know for his various collaborations, British Murder Boys (with Surgeon), O/V/R with James Ruskin and Sandwell District, alongside Function and Silent Servant. 2020 saw Regis’ stunning new album ‘In This Is The Light That You Miss’ on Downwards. In his continuous search to sidestep convention, he remains one of the more highly regarded creative forces within the British techno/electronic scene.
The genesis of the tracks on ‘Beyond the Reach of Time’ go way back to 1999 and thanks to various internet leaks have, over the following years, added to the mystique that surrounds them and the artist. Recorded in a period when O’Connor was putting tracks together for both an album on Tresor and an anonymous shortly-lived house label called Housework, these tracks seemed to fit neither the hard-edged Regis sound of the time nor the Housework style and simply slipped through the cracks.
Now over 20 years after their creation, we are proud to give these long-lost Regis tracks the official release they deserve. The EP opens with the thumping yet muted tribalism of ‘No Love From Above’ whereby O’Connor approaches the dancefloor with malevolent restraint before ‘At the Side of Silence’ fuses this approach with the chord motif that runs through the beating heart of this release.
Rolling in at just under 13 minutes the closing ‘Beyond the Reach of Time Pt.2’ is epic in both scale and sound, its synth drenched chords taking it closer to Motor City emotionalism than anything O’Connor has committed to wax. Its sister piece ‘Beyond the Reach of Time Pt.1’ can also be found on ‘EPM20’, the 21-track digital compilation marking EPM’s 20th Year.
The 3 track EP is set for release on the 12th November, 2021 on digital and vinyl. Keep en eye on EMP Music’s Bandcamp page here for pre-order.