Review: Intergalactic Gary’s ‘Signs of Disarray’ EP Glows With Haunting, Mysterious Techno

Intergalactic Gary | Signs of Disarray (EP) | Midnight Shift

Release Date: 6 December, 2019

DJ and producer John Scheffer, well-known under his moniker Intergalactic Gary, has been a prominent figure in the electronic music scene circa the 1980’s; Scheffer graced The Hague’s (a city residing on the west coast of the Netherlands) electro scene, landing sets at the first ever house club La DS in the early 1990s. Initially inspired by early 70’s Italian-American and Italo disco, and later drawing influence from iconic genre’s emerging in the 80’s and 90’s such as iconic Detroit techno and Chicago house.

The DJ has become known for his stand-out style and distinct technical skills – although with releases far and few between, Intergalactic Gary could definitely be considered a cult producer, and with the release of ‘Signs of Disarray’, his first solo EP in a whopping 15 years – his unparalleled approach to electronic music shines through in this dark, obscure, yet enticing offering.

The titular track ‘Signs of Disarray‘ opens with pounding dark resonance, pitch black throbs of midnight techno powerful in their submersion; swells like spaceships gliding across the hypnotising heartbeat of the track. Cyber static pulses clap in distortion, an obscured industrial touch slightly ominous in tone; undulating synth textures dot the track, the alien timbres ripe with personality and dance floor-curiosity.

The assertive rhythmic opening of ‘Mystified‘ is trance-like in it’s tribal dance; ritualistic in manner, hues of sinister phantoms haunt the arcane thump that drives the track forward – a captivating nightfall touched with an aura of foreboding gloom. Ghosts swell in reverb amongst the machine-gun underlay – doused in eerie, fluctuating synths; a pitch-black cryptogram.

Rating: 7.5 / 10

Feature Image: Verena Blok