Detroit techno has a perverse way of sounding more futuristic the older it gets. Released in 1994 by a producer who came up after (but in the same vein as) iconic Detroit producers Derrick May and Juan Atkins, Kenny Larkin's Azimuth brought the sound of the Motor City to Warp, the storied English electronic-music label known for a wandering and adventurous ear. The sound of Azimuth is very much vintage Detroit techno, with lots of bleep-minded hooks and an elegant sense of what constitutes stomping rhythm. "Hello" plays as a beatless, oscillating greeting before the title track storms in with a blast of heavy breakbeats lightened by shimmering cymbals. It's a good reconciliation of austere Detroit techno and the kind of mania heard in early rave-era classics. "Track" and "ESP" are more housey, but Larkin maintains a strong sense of drive throughout that gives his frequent house forays an unmistakable techno tinge. It's the kind of Detroit techno that oozed "Detroit" in its time but also strayed from formula enough to help make "Detroit" mean as much as it does in the present day.