The strong steady percussion bends and buckles under its own weight, harmonies squeezed through by the sheer force of snare and cymbal. Solid Techno from this new source.
ZCKR Records seems to embrace any, or all, styles. To date the Bremen imprint has shied away from the spotlight. The club night come label scurried past the lights with an EP from Anom Vitruv. But as quick as it surfaced it was gone again. But cometh the hour and cometh ZCKR, this time re-emerging with an electronic novice.
Qnete is new to the releasing game but continues the tradition of Untitled EPs at ZCKR. The opener, in comparison to of former output is, well, normal. Beats are the central point of concentration. Drums bunch and scatter, turn and fold as “The Point” takes hold. Thick velvet layers of bass border the backdrop as spindles of snare twist in late evening light. That same splintered energy is brought into the B-Side. Echoing bleeps are buried beneath a cacophony of claps, toms and cymbals as “Untitled” pulsates. Qnete’s hypnotic rhythms have an interesting effect. Structures at first sound rigid but are in reality constantly shifting, fluxing into grainy fuzz before returning to clear snap. Perhaps the most aggressive is left until the end. “Like in 1989” is hammer and tongs material. Blasted bass is further corrupted by industrial screech and gurgling toms.
There’s an unrelenting rawness to Qnete’s debut. True, in the last five years or so there has been a move to under-production. Make a “live” sound and then pour grit and gravel all over it. This technique is plain to see here and works well. The amplification, or over amplification, of the tracks’ elements creates a warping effect. The strong steady percussion bends and buckles under its own weight, harmonies squeezed through by the sheer force of snare and cymbal. Solid Techno from this new source.
Untitled is available on ZCKR.
