Swan Sketch seems to straddle the worlds of experimental exploration and bass heavy bangers, not only that, but it does it comfortably without feeling contrived.
Al Tourettes is a Bristol based producer who has been garnering a lot of critical acclaim recently, and this release only strengthens his growing reputation. A tough and menacing collection of tracks that veer from brooding and experimental to dance floor shattering acid tinged electro stepper.
Releases with Appleblim put Al Tourretes (Alec Storey) on the techno – house – dubstep crossover map, although he has been releasing tracks since 2006. This was followed by support from the UK champion of bass Mary Anne Hobs, which is generally a sign of national significance within the underground dance music world. He has developed a reputation for playing blistering live and DJ sets which have seen him grace the booths at Fabric (London), Space (Ibiza) and Nuit Sonores (Lyon) among lots of others. More recently he was commissioned to produce a piece of music for the film Black Swan by Darren Aranofsky, which is a huge deal by anyone’s standard.
This E.P. is pretty uncompromising. It doesn’t really sound much like anything else around at the moment. Swan Sketch seems to straddle the worlds of experimental exploration and bass heavy bangers, not only that, but it does it comfortably without feeling contrived. Very few people manage to combine the ethos of high brow music technology and accessible club compatible dance music, but there are sounds all over this E.P. which are, to my ears at least, influenced by advanced geeky music software like MAX/MSP. The title track starts with some sonic wrangling that bears the techy influence I mentioned, and then develops into a piece of music that is tense and ominous in a way that is slightly unnerving. The sinister high synth line has a horror film feel to it while the undercurrents of bass swirl around the slightly off kilter percussion and drums. This is one of the best tracks I’ve heard in anything like a dance genre for a while, mainly because of its cinematic scope. I’m guessing from the title that this may have been developed from an original idea generated for the Black Swan film, which would explain the tension and emotive qualities. Individual and intense, both good things. The next track, Universed, is more of the same, but with a bit less of the sinister element and a tad more penchant towards electro.
“Badger” is the one which is most likely to light up ears and eyes within the vinyl spinning fraternity, and apparently has been used to great effect by the likes of Appleblim in DJ sets since early 2011. It’s a chunky wedge of slightly acidic future electro with a beat and bassline combo that is so bouncy shoulders will be dropping and heads nodding involuntarily all over the place within a few bars. A stomping measure with swirling pads sparsely interjected alongside the odd hint of a synth hook and subtle rhythmic tweaks that will have the connoisseurs nodding in appreciation. Finally, Datasette’s remix of the title track is a no nonsense affair with clicky, jerky rhythms, brooding atmosphere and a tantalising bassline that is reserved but infectious.
This E.P. is an all round winner. Adventurous, exciting and original—Al Tourettes is on the rise and is one to watch.
Swan Sketch is available on Baselogic.
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