(10.19.04) To say that Bitcrush’s record, Enarc, sounds a bit like Gridlock is a bit like saying, “Crimson is, really, just another red.” While Bitcrush is the solo work of one of the two Mikes who make up Gridlock, it is disingenuous to merely write the record off as a pale imitator of the work that Mike Wells and Mike Cadoo do together. Cadoo, the Britcrush half, certainly applies the techniques and lessons learned in Gridlock to the granular electronic canvases of Enarc, but the object of his application is a subtler, more symphonic range of work (well, except for the twelfth track which is an untitled tribute to Joy Division and The Cure and is as subtle as an instrumental rock song can be).
Meanwhile, in regular Bitcrush land, tiny particles of sand rattle against a filter as “Two Go From There” slips into the system with a light bass drum beat tapping in the background like random rain drops against the roof. The melodies glide in on a bed of warm strings, a luxurious combination of violins and electronic tones like soft crystal chimes. The shivering static and tap-tap-tap of the percussion remain as the movement of the piece while the strings and electronics swirl around each other like the wind playing with a gossamer wealth of carefree fog. “Engale” blossoms from a tiny mote of sound, blown in on a gust of electric wind, gradually building its patter of crunchy beats and slowly evolving synth pads like the roseate changes of a blooming flower. “Habitual” swings from emotional synth work to sweeping washes of sound to crunchy breakbeat slowed to just half break-neck speed. “Enarc Ende Y?” plays out in cinematic style, a theme song for robot lovers who have escaped the tyranny of human control and are racing to freedom across a red desert, their tiny pistons pumping steam, their flat metal feet kicking up dust, while the sun sets the horizon on fire and everything feels fresh and new and completely open to possibilities. Just, you know, all digital and in High Definition. The koto –a Japanese stringed instrument — wavers its plucked notes in “Eye Koto,” the sound of the stringed instrument warping and curving as it is processed through the Bitcrush filter. A slow hip-hop beat and a crackle of dust provide accompaniment for a song that sounds like DJ Krush experimenting with noise effects. “Untilted” stretches forth from long glacial tones and erects a light-dappled tower of edged beats and chiming melodies like light and rain falling on a crystal construct which reflects an infinite array of colors. This is the soundtrack to a short film of time lapse photography taken of crystal formations on the Venusian surface. “Carbon” pulses with a drum kit recorded in an echo chamber, the beat occasionally slipping with the barest hint of delay. Those emotional synth pads build tiny phrases that climb into the wide sky like rising motes of twinkling light. Burr-edged tones glide in the background like drifts of phantom smoke. The song erupts into an up-tempo version, a brisker variation on the earlier theme. “Carbon Rewind” is a reverse reworking of “Carbon,” the theme elongated to nearly three times as slow, turning the bright tones and snappy percussion into a sonorous time delay echo.
Enarc is described as an artistic snapshot, a Rembrandt style self-portrait of the artist in the year 2004. The record mixes his past influences and present efforts into a single composition. And, while there are definite links to Cadoo’s previous work (the anthemic swells of noise and the crunchy ambience of Gridlock along with the sparse rhythm patterns and crystalline synth work of Dryft), Enarc isn’t just a summary of the past. There are hints and portents of an evolution occuring, a gradual push towards the next iteration. We aren’t as frightened by change when it happens slowly and Enarc is a boat that has begun to veer off the familiar path. I’m onboard — I’m ready for the new course, Cap’n Cadoo — for the rest of you, there’s still time to book passage on the Enarc.
Enarc is out now on Component.
