Furthering the already deep connection between Reaktivate and the far-reaching movement of Italian techno operators that´s been surfacing over the past few years, the Portuguese label welcomes Manu C´s inaugural trip in it´s catalogue, in the form of 2 of the producer´s and the label´s most experimental and off-kilter originals so far.

Building on a steadily evolving career that has, more recently, seen Manu C issue releases on labels like Ness´s Mono Records and Conrad Van Orton´s CRS Recordings, and hot on the heels of the personal statement made by his debut album "Unsentimental Man", just out on Mesheland, the 1st original track on here (which also names the EP), "Awklak3", is a powerful industrial-leaning mood setter that operates outside of the dancefloor and which seems to evoke the feverished labor of a lonely and stressed factory worker as much with the machines as against the idea of those same machines dominating his will. Amidst distant bangs and the whirring and buzzing of the mechanisms, a palpable sense of tension is built. Intensifying these feelings, 2nd original "The Point Of No Return" heightens the tension to the point of submitting the listener to the notion that the machines have won and there´s nothing else to do other than trying to follow the rhythm it dictates, from factory to dancefloor.

Providing alternative readings to this scenario, Tracy, label owner (along with MTD) at Sonntag Morgen, and another Italian name on the rise, places "Awklak3" straight on the dancefloor with his remix, turning the original into a robotic yet grooving stomper. Completing the release, Reaktivate brings into the fold, from the UK (and now based in Berlin), Timothy Alexander, the author of what we consider to be one of the year´s best techno releases, the Sentience EP on Adam-X´s respected Sonic Groove label (check it out, trust us, it´s great). Tim´s remix is a dark industrial off-beat number with a ravenous tendency.

Overall, the EP serves as a clear affirmation from Manu C and also from the label itself, of both parties´ increasing commitment to a notion of techno that defines itself as something that goes beyond the dancefloor, but is also a musical form that reflects a world and a human race progressively more entangled with technology and thethering on the brink of being submitted to it. It is our hope that Manu C´s and the remixers´ work here, allows the listener to glimpse that amidst the machines, a human heart still beats strong.