At long last, the once-ill-fated Skam label has made its comeback, their latest and most notable offering being the long-awaited second album by Darryl Fitton’s Bola project. After Fitton’s debut Soup became such a highly respected success in the IDM community upon its release, Bola fans waited in dire anticipation for a new full length album. After over two years, Skam released the ep Mauver, which, while genuinely tempting fans with its cold, hip-hop beats and strange vocals, still did not satisfy the full album void that was expected. As 2002 became a reality, so did the second full-length release of Bola, mysteriously titled Fyuti. Although many Soup comparisons can genuinely be made, Fyuti still follows a slightly different path, most certainly in a new and encroaching direction than the talented composer’s debut release. “Vertiphon” begins the journey with beautifully haunting, multi-layer synths that build upon structured beats, sorrowful harmonies, and dark tones. “Vertiphon” allows the listener to reminisce back to the Soup album, while still setting the stage for the unseeing progression that lurks ahead. Leading in effectively, “Shoobl,e” wobbles and bleeps before gradually moving into building a structure of multiple layers of effects and beats. As the song progresses, smooth synths join the mix to add to the expansion of the track. Moving beat patterns interact with one another while blips and confident cymbals drive forward to a subtle climax.
The 7″ predecessor to Fyuti, Pae Paoe, occupies the third ditty on this release, beginning with a mixture of warped butter beats and treated vocals akin to Skinny Puppy’s Worlock single. With a crash of dub-tinged beats that work into a sweaty hip-hop stammering, and succulently soaring synthwork, “Pae Paoe” emerges strong in its completion with appropriate interludes and an epic, almost Industrial-like feel. With plenty of blips and bleeps acting as the beatwork, “Tibular Vader” slithers aptly along, allowing a distant, robotic vocal sample to surface from its mechanical demeanor. “Veronex Cypher” explores more typical IDM territory, presenting hollow, train-track beats, accompanied by mysterious tones and scattering, electrical thumping. Within the interlude, a lovely dark and complex melody materializes, complimenting the adjoining wash, and soon pairs up with the strange, wandering percussion. Heavy bass kicks off “Magnasushi” as it is joined by clicks, clacks, and a mesmerizing melody. Crashes of distortion fill the role of cymbals as a wobbling, dark synthline makes its way into the melancholy structure. Layers of ghostly synths build along the menacing clamor as another Fitton masterpiece comes to a fold with a billowing sigh. A strange, taunting spit of tone dominates “O,Chuma”, while it trots along with a simple beat, circus-like weltering, and panning blips and bleeps. A steady, slow, yet active beat drives “Horizophon” forward with a heavy retort and wobbling synth tones crashing beneath the steady percussion. A slight, yet beautiful four-note melody joins in as layers of harmony slide into the mix of schizophrenic striking. Light, distant songs overcome the steady drums, bringing the track to a pleasing conclusion. The lovely “Soleiele” strides gently along with inconspicuous beats paralleling a gentle breeze of bleeping architecture. To end this journey, “VM8” lets out slowly, again allowing memories of Soup to dribble in. Temperate harmonies and subtle beats weave a beautiful opera of emotion and euphoric sensations. Fyuti effectively approaches the next logical step after Fitton’s Soup release, demonstrating not only his insightful talents to write original electronic music scores, but to also inject a genuine harmonic sentiment into his vision of music.
A truly brilliant album for its time, effortlessly surpassing the horde of IDM genre hounds that dominate the scene today. One of this year’s best…
Fyuti is out now on Skam Records.
