Neuropolitique

Neuropolitique is Matt Cogger, a London-based producer whose influential records on the ART, Peacefrog, and New Electronica labels were some of the first examples of U.K.-bred techno exploring a distinctly Detroit aesthetic. A mixture of steady, pulsing rhythms and melodic and harmonic phrasing with a slight experimental edge, Cogger has made no secret of the influence artists such as Juan Atkins and Derrick May have had over his music. But he has also managed to sidestep the relentless accusations of plagiarism which have plagued U.K. colleagues such as Kirk Digiorgio and B12. Raised in a London suburb where his exposure to electronic music began early on (he bought Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells at the age of seven), Cogger nonetheless received no formal training, his complex arrangements a function of his engineering experience and a commitment to mastering his gear. To date, that commitment has sealed a pair of full-lengths for New Electronica and a current contract with noted experimental imprint Irdial. Cogger's first exposure to dance music was (not uncommonly) electro and early hip-hop, which he helped promote as a member of a sound system which also included Lee Purkis (aka Insync of 10th Planet). As hip-hop became more commercial, Cogger became increasingly interested in the emerging acid house movement, picking up the legendary House Sound of Chicago compilation in 1986 and immersing himself in the club scene. Drawn to the bizarre experiments of early Detroit techno, Cogger met up with Derrick May at a party in 1989 and made offhanded plans to visit the producer at his Detroit home. Two months later, Cogger was knocking on May's door, having left London to dry out from acid house's drug-addled "summer of love" and learn something about this music he couldn't leave alone. Cogger began working at May's studio, engineering a number of popular records, and soon began cutting tracks with Marty Bonds, including "Mind You Don't Trip." His first solo work was the "Artemis" single, later released on Kirk Degiorgio's Applied Rhythmic Technology (A.R.T.) label (Cogger met Degiorgio at May's studio when Degiorgio was over from London on a record-buying trip). A.R.T.'s assocation with the New Electronica label led to Cogger releasing a number of influential tracks and a trio of full-lengths on the label as Neuropolitique (derived from a book by Timothy Leary). ~ Sean Cooper