More analog and synth-blasted madness from the ever-talented South West Wales, UK-based artist BLAEN (aka John Healy of Somatic Responses).
A half-dozen ravaged electronic morsels
More analog and synth-blasted madness from the ever-talented South West Wales, UK-based artist BLAEN (aka John Healy of Somatic Responses). The closing epic (“Carmarthenol”) maneuvers through 12-minutes of unfolding ambient fizz-fuzz trajectories, not unlike Autechre’s elseq 1–5, or NTS Sessions 1-4 (Warp)—providing familiar tangled expanses as the adjoining tracks flex with an acidic and bulkier twist.
The title denoting Carmarthenshire’s aim to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through reforestation, the EP cover artwork features a massive mining shearer in iconic, perhaps significant of the times, Ukrainian flag colors, blue and yellow. While the title and cover could have underlying meaning we can all dissect, the opening piece “Ported Nostalgia (original mix)” is a slow motion, acid drenched feast of buzzing synths and crunchy technoid beats, blistered at the edges. The darker industrial brew on “Carmarthen Dioxide (original mix)” flutters about with a minimal acid-techno sheen as the drum infestation of “Carmarthen DieOxide (Resp. Issues Mix)” sandblasts its way through rugged and rapidfire rhythms.
The EP also features a couple of harder-edged Somatic Responses remixes. The highlight of the lot takes shape on the brooding, broken beats of “Carmarthen Bileoxide (Somatic Responses Remix)” as its rhythmic braindance versus fidgeting breaks are reminiscent of Meat Beat Manifesto’s explosive syncopated groove—a powerful sonic avalanche. The short runtime of “Ported Nostalgia (Somatic Responses Remix),” at 2:52, features just enough industrial power-noise flux that eventually fizzes away as if nothing ever happened.
BLAEN displays a half-dozen ravaged electronic morsels that bend and flex via hundreds of fractured analog slabs. It’s a sound recipe that the artist manages quite well; let’s just hope the moniker sees additional releases throughout 2022!
Carmarthen Dioxide is available on Welsh Modular Alliance. [Bandcamp]
