Waterford-born, Berlin-based Cailín Power has spent years building one of the most quietly formidable reputations in the European techno underground. A vinyl-only purist and long-time resident at Dublin's Subject and District 8, her debut 12" Phantom Love Affair caught the ear of Dave Clarke, who named her among his favourite producers of 2021.

Releases on Rekids, Symbolism, and Phantasy Sound followed, alongside appearances at Tresor, fabric, Panorama Bar, and two Boiler Room sessions. Cosmic Sonic is her debut long player and the second release on her own Frequency Architecture imprint, a label built around an analogue-only ethos and a commitment to keeping the raw energy of live hardware production intact.

Cailín’s debut album is an accomplished exercise in the more experimental side of the techno sound, evoking Asimovian imagery of a deep sci-fi nature.

The beatless title track Cosmic Sonic opens proceedings; a composition that literally sounds like the atmospheric emissions of Jupiter or Saturn. With this, the album assumes a distinctly Drexciyan sci-fi flavour that permeates all nine productions.

Deep Down Under follows, built around a positively hadal sub bass and a slowly oscillating acid synth loop. That sub breathes in and out, growing with a growling intensity as distortion is progressively applied.

The stark, futuristic atmosphere of Timeless Awareness evokes a persistent sense of being observed by a sentient intelligence; its sine waves mimicking a sonic signal reporting back to some distant central core.

If the preceding track was the transmission, Expressions is almost certainly the reply. A panic-inducing, discordant synth veers catastrophically around the soundstage above a deep drone, while our first encounter with any kind of beat offers precious little order amidst the wonderful chaos.

Against the Grain arrives next with something more befitting a dancefloor than the vacuum of space; a 4/4 framework that nonetheless implies a journey through some form of alternative galaxy.

The tumbling sine pulses of 6R4 fall around the headspace like the wet, acidic ashfall of a distant planet; or perhaps the radio frequencies emanating from a celestial body whose designation the track's name deliberately evokes.

The Thinker's percussion takes centre stage initially; a thumping tom complementing digital chirrups and vocal chatter as the central core processes all of the information it has received.

Where'd You Go then puts us firmly on the run, its insistent kicks and droning pads pursuing relentlessly while a hypnotic bassline follows at our heels. The tension mounts steadily toward the album's finale.

Stretch Armstrong closes the record; possibly a nod to the wonderfully elasticated synth that drags us through the black hole we have been hurtling toward throughout this journey. A most fitting end.

Cosmic Sonic is out May 14th on Frequency Architecture. Grab it on Bandcamp.