(17/09) Where is the Champion", Timothy J. Fairplay's first full length solo album consists of twelve shifting, shuffling and shimmering tracks that casually stroll between cold wave menace, industrial clammer and robo-disco, cruising the highways and byways between proto-techno and slo-motion face melters. Touches of retroist obsession become apparent as the album progresses, amassing more and more vintage firepower into his armory. Flashes of Italo's hedonistic exuberance collide with a bleak, dystopian look at our current society, with a faint whiff of optimism hidden amongst the layers. Distant memories of the infectious rhythms of Chicago house jostle for attention amongst a dizzying array of Blade Runner melodies and cybernetic abandon. Saturated snares, clipped claps and warbling chords are dusted with distortion. And this idea of distortion, manipulation and the blurred line is omnipresent. Innocent and sinister, cruel and playful, accepted boundaries are brazenly ignored as engines growl and synthlines soar. A wonderfully realized piece, succinct and dynamic through and through.

• A1 Night Strike On Fish Island
• A2 RZ Runners
• A3 Where Is The Champion?
• B1 Autoduel
• B2 Messengers Of Deception
• B3 Deeds Not Words
• C1 Lake Of The Sun
• C2 A Whisper In the Darkness
• C3 Seven Corners
• D1 Ferox 3
• D2 The Bronx Stasi
• D3 FM Pirate Cemetary Mystery