I waited a long, loooong time for the opportunity to play the full length of this version of "Obsidian", and finally in 2005 I was able to comfortably do so when I played a warm up slot at a big party. It was the first record of the night, so it was the long, gradual build up over a quarter of an hour that set the scene. I hesitate to call that track their masterpiece as P.W.O.G. produced so many tracks that might be as worthy of that description, but it's certainly up there with their best works. Building from almost nothing but a few quivering tones, the track is augmented by subtle rhythmic structures which give the track a very ritualistic, tribal feel. Timothy Leary gets a look in, samples of his voice scattered throughout. Subtle melodies float and dreamy synths swell and fall. Nothing happens suddenly. Not until the last couple of minutes does a soft kick drum appear, and to my mind that's the weakest part of the track. I think it could have done without it, or been done slightly differently. But it matters not; the track is still brilliant. On the B-side, "Patience" and the Kala mix of "Challenge" are also excellent tracks. "Patience" is a strange one, with a swung rhythm that has a dragging feel to it and an odd modulating bassline that sounds very satisfying. The bassline becomes the prominent feature in this version of "Challenge", with string led melodies backing it up. None of the spacey synth sweeps, and not as far out as the original that appears on their debut album, but a strong track nonetheless.

When I bought it in 1992 this ep intruduced me to the classic dutch techno sound. A true revelation. It is a real milestone in the history of electronic dance music. A must have for every digital freak !