AOKI Takamasa :: RV8 (Raster-Noton)

It is simplicity as virtuosity, minimalism whittled with the knife-edge exactitude of a Giacometti figurine.

Eight flint-edged “rhythm variations” by Osaka-based AOKI Takamasa, bitumen slick grooves flowing out of a project he has been pursuing since 2009. Aimed at the dancefloor, each beat scores a perfect midbrain bullseye and jerks at your limbs, while its subtle modulations of timbre and near-melody stimulate more reflective thoughts about its dense but never over-powering flow.

Meticulously draughted and seamlessly assembled, RV8 is a little blue but ultimately blithe and uplifting. Its chunky beats vibrate and tickle. Halfway through, “Rhythm-Variation 05” even provides its own user’s manual, in the form of a short sample explaining how sound is sculpted inside a synthesizer, in between stabs of blinding light.

It is simplicity as virtuosity, minimalism whittled with the knife-edge exactitude of a Giacometti figurine.

RV8 is available on Raster-Noton.