October 20th saw the debut release of Melbourne, Australia act Terminal Sound System. Limited to a mere 100 copies (a reissue from 1999), this disc might be hard to trace, but definitely not difficult to forget. Glitch core in the most potent of structures next to bass-driven industrial spheres and corrupted rhythms all seem to form the basis for this 9-track, 54-minute electronic album. Tension, confusion and chaos seemingly falls from the sky as a wave of gritty beats tumble down like an 18-wheeler passing by in the middle of the night. Mysterious melodies and dark basslines play an integral role on this album, a CD release available for the first time outside of Australia. As TSS rolls across the audio-spectrum with his form of slanted drill’n bass, broken-beats and paranoid glitch ambience, the music contained within Solaris is a captivating picture of frustration at its finest. Not forgetting the fact that rhythmic motion connects each track together, TSS balances trauma with instrumental precision (try the title track, “Solaris,” for example). Tearing apart beats like a master-chef, TSS’ fluid percussion is enough to have any listener scratching their brain in bewilderment. Two complex remixes closing off this disc are brought to us by Hive Recording act Retnah and Ad Noiseam recording artist Larvae; Retnah’s “Recoil” remix blends harsh drum’n bass with a skittering rhythm while Larvae’s “Fused” remix is a focused beat driven, experimental electronic gem that polishes off this album quite well. As a whole, Solaris delivers sharp, illbient noise with textured trip-hop that is mysteriously addictive yet genuinely complex. Fans of Ad Noiseam, Hymen, M-Tronic and Fliesskoma take note.
Solaris is OUT NOW on Hive Records.
