Surface Tension

It's not everyday that pianist and composer, Francesco Tristano, joins forces with one of the Belleville Three - the godfathers of Detroit techno - and yet, anyone who's followed the Luxembourg artist will know that expectation is not a currency he deals in. Set for release on Transmat, the groundbreaking label from said techno pioneer, Derrick May, Surface Tension is not just the latest album from the prolific Tristano, but perhaps the most significant in his ongoing explorations into electronic music. Described by the man himself as his "most techno and synth-based project yet," the eight-track effort is both a celebration of electronic instrumentation and the first record May has worked extensively on for the better part of two decades. I had to lure him into my studio, Tristano says of May with a smile, he was like Alice in Wonderland when he saw the synthesizers.