Dez Williams :: Forlorn Figures in Godforsaken Places (Mechatronica)

Williams’ latest 12” is an excellent example of why he is held in such high regard. Three cuts of no-nonsense, straight up, sheer machine music, percussion punched through metal with slicing synthwork.

Berlin electro collective Mechatronica made their position known from the get go. A strong compilation founded the imprint with a second installment of equally brawny proportions landing soon after. Their third EP sees one contributor from their last release given a full twelve inches, one of Britain’s unsung pioneers: Dez Williams.

For well over a decade Williams has been plying his trade as an electronic musician. He released on seminal, labels like Ai and SCSI-AV, but it really seems like the last few years have seen the British man begin to gain the recognition he deserves, and Forlorn Figures in Godforsaken Places deserves recognition.

The rasping aquatics of “Xen” opens Forlorn Figures in Godforsaken Places. The track pulls together a number of elements. Squelching drums are countered by bright synth stabs while samples orbit. “Carkrash Vikdim” races, rhythms speeding against walls of glass and computer bleep. Samples surge, surfacing through the punishing lines of percussion and raw motor roar. BPMs drop for “On The Verge.” While snare bite strings sail before a backdrop of gentle key taps for a work of refracted elegance. The finale comes with “Tromb.” Coarse tones rise and fall, slip and slide as Williams dissolved boundaries with an industrial angle of rusted bass and static.

Williams’ latest 12” is an excellent example of why he is held in such high regard. Three cuts of no-nonsense, straight up, sheer machine music, percussion punched through metal with slicing synthwork. “On The Verge” shows another side of his sound, a softer and more relenting side which toes in tight party line of electro.

Forlorn Figures in Godforsaken Places is available on Mechatronica.