Graham Dunning emerges with Quern (Jollies Records) from a period of academic research into sound and self-built instrumentation with a collection that feels both tactile and purposeful.
Sound as something shaped, handled, and activated
Graham Dunning emerges with Quern (Jollies Records) from a period of academic research into sound and self-built instrumentation with a collection that feels both tactile and purposeful. Rather than drifting into abstraction for its own sake, these tracks maintain a sense of physicality—sound as something shaped, handled, and activated. There’s a clear push to render experimental practice accessible without diluting its edge, aligning method with outcome in a way that feels closer to disciplined inquiry than casual production habit.
Across twelve tracks, Dunning assembles a palette of deep bass pressure, brittle white-noise textures, clipped clicks, and tightly programmed percussive ticks. These elements are organized through familiar rhythmic frameworks—often rooted in 4/4 club logic—but extended into more fractured territories associated with post-IDM and glitch-led structures. The result is music that moves between propulsion and interruption without losing coherence.
Individual pieces sharpen this balance. “Tentacle Motion Study” leans into weighty low-end and direct rhythmic drive, while “Flatness” condenses its energy into a brief, high-impact techno burst. “Perpetuum Mobile” pushes into acid territory, offset by a slightly surreal melodic edge, and both “Graveturner” and “Soil Robot” explore stuttering, broken-motion mechanics. Closing track “Discoid Rotary Stern” stands out as a defining moment: a surging, swollen bass presence cycling beneath hammering, swung percussion. It captures the core of the record—precision meeting force, system meeting movement—leaving a lasting imprint that reinforces Dunning’s distinct approach to sound construction.
Quern is available on Jollies. [Bandcamp]
