Kenny Hanlon has decided to stay put for the latest on Apartment Records. The island of Ireland is the focus, and her artists both North and South of the border are the geographical points of musical reference.
New Jackson is up first, remixing what is essentially a remix. TR One’s Viceroy 9c, a take on Aphex Twin’s “Polynomial C,” is reinterpreted by New Jackson better known as David Kitt. It’s very curious how Kitt has become active in electronics. The Dubliner has been part of the Irish Indie and Acoustic scene for over a decade. I’ve actally heard him DJ a few times, in my youth. He used to drop in the odd bit of better known stuff from the likes of Warp, but a move into full blown electronics from a singer-song writer; fair play. Anyway, back to the track. The intensity of the original is tamed, beats flexing and sprinting whilst melodies meander. Drooping strings laze across delicately sharpened chords as snares snap. Samples bellow with acid twinges arising in the latter stages. A hazy and dreamlike reworking. Next come Slowburn with “Riders on the Sea.” Slowburn have been active for a handful of years now, releasing on labels like Austere and Lunar Disko. Their offering is, like their name, a slow and smouldering brew. Gentle tones and deep bass lines are countered by cold claps for a heady piece of electronics. A new name introduces the flip. The Cyclist has been active for a few years now with EPs on Leaving Records. “Crax” wades in. Dub and distortion characterize the sound. Bounding bass and crushed beats are washed over with static as an intricate melody unveils itself. A strange, yet very appealing, track. The 12” finishes its journey in Belfast with One Electronica’s Superior Inferior and “A Bit Much Confusion.” The closer is a cracker. Red blooded beats met by delicate scale slides and a reverberating bass. A whirling finale to this round trip of the Emerald Isle.
I remember growing up in Ireland. Electronic music wasn’t on the radar. Luckily the burgeoning internet was available in the wilds of the Irish midlands and with it a wealth of synthesizer music. But, apart from the likes of Decal and Donnacha Costello, next to no Irish people were making that style of music. Fast forward some ten plus years and it’s a different story, and Apartment Records and these four Irish artists are part of that story. New and exciting sounds from the homeland.
Apartment Six is available on Apartment.
