A whacky journey into tripped out electro was what I thought I was in for on the needle drop, but I was wrong. Element #8 is no fixed music state, no one genre, it is fluid. Instead, like the alchemists of the past, Carl Y. Scheele twists, pulls and reshapes as he picks and chooses from a range of styles to come at his very own.
YUYAY has developed into a bit of a “buy on sight” label. I’m not one to blow too much smoke, but this Leipzig imprint has certainly earned its stripes with a catalogue of daring electro from homegrown talent. The latest six tracker arrives care an unknown entity, Carl Y. Scheele, and his focus on Element #8.
“Redox” balances a brooding dark bassline and jittery beats with playful keyboard noodling and innocent notes in a refreshing honest and unimposing piece. There is a light-hearted quality to the EP, a quality that shines in the bright bars of “Liquid Phlogiston” while being obscured in the creepy compufunk of “Red Vapors.”“Saline Principle Of Water” is an absolute show stopper. Broken beats are the foundation from which strings sail and soar with Scheele demonstrating another side of his wide sound. Softer tones are mixed with frosted keys for the finale. “Phosphorous Match” sails against a ambient backdrop, silken smoothness countered by squelchy notes and crisp drums.
A whacky journey into tripped out electro was what I thought I was in for on the needle drop, but I was wrong. Element #8 is no fixed music state, no one genre, it is fluid. Instead, like the alchemists of the past, Carl Y. Scheele twists, pulls and reshapes as he picks and chooses from a range of styles to come at his very own. As the record inner sleeve says, “…we often talk about the same without even realising it.” Well said. Great sounding.
Element #8 is available on YUYAY.
