Sustained calls over the years for reissue of these highpoints of dub-techno fusion led to Type stepping up with a first Vibrant Forms remaster in 2013. Subwax Bcn do the New Year’s honours with VFII.
News of timely re-presentation of a cult classic of dub-infused electronic music, Vibrant Forms II. The banner under which Chain Reaction collated a series of late ’90s EPs by then unknown Fluxion, covered two albums, each soon OOP. Sustained calls over the years for reissue of these highpoints of dub-techno fusion led to Type stepping up with a first Vibrant Forms remaster in 2013. Subwax Bcn do the New Year’s honours with VFII.
Fluxion’s Vibrant Forms have been a source of inspiration for a new generation of electronic music artists and enthusiasts (e.g. see FACT’s 25 best dub techno tracks of all time features VFII stand-out, “Bipolar Defect.”
This, and indeed most of VFII, could be the archetype of ‘Heroin house,’ notorious tag coined for CR (Simon Reynolds, Energy Flash)—all 4×4 pulse and shape-shift atmo, churning undertow and treacley low-end.
Sample the discourse inspired: ‘The sounds of organic lifeforms surging the streets like a thick, humanoid liquid; flowing, mixing, dissolving… But also the steady thumps, beats and clicks from the city itself; the machines, the vehicles, the mechanical hearts. On the one hand: Moisture, warmth. On the other: Structure, logic and aging concrete.’ (Phonica, review).
More here: ‘Soublis wisely avoided any cultural tropes, and the productions still sound fresh and deceptively alien. Through washes and waves of reverb and the faint thud of a kick drum the all-analogue productions contain a raw quality that is all too rare these days.’ (Type, re: VF reissue—ditto re: VFII).
VFII comes with new mastering, new artwork, in different formats (first digital release), with an additional EP, Outerside, containing material never before on vinyl. It looks like a year of re-formation all round for K. Soublis (Fluxion), with the promise of a 2016 Vibrant Forms tour revisiting the classic material, along with new music.
Vibrant Forms II is available on February 26 on Subwax Bcn.
