Isophlux was one of the front-runners of American electronic music. In 1995 the Miami imprint was born with influences coming from electro and the IDM scene. The label gave the electronic audience its first taste of artists such as Lexaunculpt, L’Usine, Gosub and Funckarma under their Cenik moniker. Isophlux’s brand of glitchy electronics and electro, not to mention flare for discovering new talent, gave the label an individuality and attraction. However, in 2001 Isophlux stopped. The releases ceased up and it looked like Isophlux had lost its steam, followed shortly after by imprints such as Schematic and more recently by Suction Records. However, out of nowhere Isophlux has returned. After seven years in the dark, the Miami label is back with a release by a new artist; a CD only release by Anthiliawaters entitled The Miles Without You.
“The Glades” wakes Isophlux from its five year slumber. The track is warm with tweaking techno being its foundation. The beats are relaxed and slow, lapping against lush synthesized melodies as some light vocals ease in periodically. “Smoot Rotation” and “Morning Coffee” follow along similar lines, Anthiliawaters putting out crisp measured beats with analogue melodies. The tracks have a light techno feel, with samples dropped here and there. A synthesizer blend of Detroit and Den Haag is the basis for “Walking Without You,” a lonelier and more minimal track than some of its predecessors. The sinister undertones of “Walking Without You” are carried into the minimal ambience of “Midnight,” a haunting piece of vintage synthesizer sounds blended to create a paranoid piece of electronix. “Invisible” starts out with creeped out vocoder lyrics and soon turns into a squalid piece of synthesizer electro that sounds straight out of the Dopplereffekt camp. Anthiliawaters eases the listener out of the dark electro alleys, but just, as the minimalism of “Iron & Clays” leaves some, but not all, of that dark tech sound behind. “Time” brings back the warmth and ease of the early pieces. A sweet and refreshing melody melts through the speakers backed up by ambling beats and bass. The album finishes with a bonus work of acidified electro, a melody tweaked and tortured through the knobs; just a little extra really. “Diggin Up” keeps that Dopplereffekt, minimal Detroit influenced, sound going, but pushes it in a different way. The synth melody stretching is there, but the aural uneasiness is not as prominent as the forerunner. A wicked delayed melody rocks the piece as it develops, creating one of the tracks of the album.
Breakfast electro is a term being banded about to describe this new release. The last thing electronic music is another genre subdivision, and isn’t really the label for this sound. The early pieces do have a nice, ease into the day quality. The tracks that make up the torso of this release are not of the cornflakes and coffee calibre, they are works of seedy and sinister electro that are more suited to dark subterranean clubs and isolated headphones. The Miles Without You is an album of two sides, dawn and dusk. Have your toast with the opening tracks, but watch out for the shadows that lurk within when the sun sets.
The Miles Without You is out now on Isophlux. [Purchase]
