Claro Intelecto
Reform Club
Release Date: Apr 24, 2012
Genre(s): Electronic
Record label: Delsin
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Album Review: Reform Club by Claro Intelecto
Exceptionally Good, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 4.5/5
After a four-year break from the format, Mark Stewart is back with his first album since Metanarrative. Despite being perhaps best known for a series called Warehouse Sessions on Modern Love, Stewart has commonly favoured the tender side of techno. But as January's Second Blood EP showed, the Mancunian's transition to Delsin seems to have sharpened his approach, resulting in what might be Claro Intelecto's most moving and sophisticated work to date.Reform Club is full of conventional beauty; protracted strings and pads which soar, pulse, float or shimmer on a dub-tinged substrate.
Based on rating 4.5/5
Review Summary: Andy Stott's former labelmate returns from a three year hiatus with his most compelling work to dateRunning ever so slightly shy of a full decade’s worth of material, Mark Stewart, by way of his alter ego Claro Intelecto, has spent his time with Ai Records, through Modern Love and now with Delsin perfecting his insularly brand of dub-tinged techno. Via two well-received LPs, a host of 12” releases and an acclaimed Warehouse Sessions collection, Claro has become synonymous with the type of brooding, bass-laden affair that made an internet superstar out of former label-mate Andy Stott. Unlike Stott though, Stewart has always favored the gentler nuances; crisp and sharp as a knife, but also tender and rich like an enveloping warmness.
Based on rating 82%%
Claro IntelectoReform Club[Delsin; 2012]By Will Ryan; April 20, 2012Purchase at: Insound (Vinyl) | Amazon (MP3 & CD) | iTunes | MOGClaro Intelecto's fantastic "Second Blood" released in January prepped the stage for the English producer's jump from the Modern Love of old to its newer, darker, amphetamine-fed template. Mark Stewart let his beats droop down into the groggy 90 BPM range of Andy Stott and D.H. and strangled hazy dub chords between monster bass textures.
Opinion: Excellent
Known primarily for his output on Boomkat's boutique label, Modern Love, UK producer Claro Intelecto (aka Mark Stewart) releases his third full-length album, Reform Club, on Delsin. Devoid of trends, Claro has been creating his unique signature sound of tight, resonating bass lines for well over a decade, yet he never ceases to amaze listeners with his ridiculously brilliant deep techno and house excursions. "Still Here" is a atmospheric, slowed-down, dub-y groove with sentimental strings that effortlessly float along.
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