Wisp belongs to that rare group who genuinely prioritize music over status, identifiable, ironically, by their failure to boast about any such preference. And whilst this can make promotion a nightmare, or simply non-existent, it does bode well for the electronic community at large, supposing that one enjoys the seemingly eternal treasure-hunt for electronic gold.
Wisp is an appropriate alias for Reid Dunn, Niagara Falls’ ghost-like producer whose modest reputation correlates with his prolific output like Gary Coleman stood next to Arnie. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise given Wisp’s musical leanings: he belongs to that rare group who genuinely prioritize music over status, identifiable, ironically, by their failure to boast about any such preference. And whilst this can make promotion a nightmare, or simply non-existent, it does bode well for the electronic community at large, supposing that one enjoys the seemingly eternal treasure-hunt for electronic gold.
Sites like Igloo make that hunt a little easier, offering up musical nuggets, pointing towards promising trails, in short, delivering the goods. After all, no one has time to map all of the over-saturated, frankly bloated, electronic universe. And so, back to Wisp, your latest musical treat. Starting in depth, in what I’d argue is one of recent production’s finest moments—about 10 seconds actually, beginning almost exactly a minute into ‘To Fiddlers Green“—Wisp manages to morph the accelerative rhythm of a bouncing piece of metal into a kick-rush, which, instead of culminating with a typical big bang, dissolves, or fizzes out, before the song really gets going. It sounds fantastic; the transition between the two sounds is seamless.
As well as demonstrating Wisp’s production credentials, “To Fiddlers Green” is also a good introduction to Wisp in general, demonstrative of his tell-tale sound—incredibly complex breakbeat rhythms with ambient soundscapes set over the top. It’s an odd mix, sure, but it works well; Wisp tunes manage to satisfy that urge for an impossible beat, Venetian Snares style, whilst also slowing one’s heartbeat. This is Wisp’s trademark, and no one does it better.
With a penchant for fantasy, many Wisp songs are named after mythological creatures or places and samples are often of the otherworldly. This motif, as far as I’m aware, is unique to Wisp and adds humour as well as a personal touch to his songs—visit “Elf magic” to see what I mean.
Currently signed to Aphex Twin’s Rephlex Records, which released Wisp’s latest LP, 2010’s We Miss You, and with past tours alongside Venetian Snares, Wisp has certainly won over his peers. And, fantastically, wonderfully, all of Wisp’s pre-Rephlex releases are available for free on this site. There’s a hell of a lot to keep one going, so dive in!
We Miss You is available on Rephlex.
