The album Consumed mines familiar areas, relying heavily on Hawtin’s love affair with the minimal, yet with this latest outing, Plastikman has offered and delivered spacious and uncluttered vistas not seen in previous incarnations. Time has provided Hawtin with a refuge, freed from expectations and the demand of rigid formulas, Plastikman has been able to float free and explore the outer limits of his musical mind. Deep, luxurious and aquatic, Consumed falls somewhere between the laconic rumble of Maurizio’s electronic output, the lazy echo fed drive of King Tubby and the more familiar musical tricks of Plastikman of old. Applying the less-is-more doctrine and closely working and expanding the elements he has put into the mix, Hawtin has created an album on a grand scale, a piece of work that fills every available space with the minimum of effort. 5 + 5 = 1000 if you see what I mean. This is the work of a confident artist hitting his stride and coming out of the late 80’s dance explosion intact and ready to progress and take things further.

Consumed is a masterpiece, but like many great works, it’s worth lies in its attempts to revolutionize. An album made for the head rather than the dance floor (but dispel any thoughts of “intelligent” techno right now, this album is without contemporaries), this album transports the listener further beyond the lure of the strobe without them having to stand on a dance floor for five hours. The future sound of the world today without a doubt.