DMX Krew & Elec Pt 1 :: Double review (Abstract Forms)

Abstract Forms, and its sister sub Abstract Acid, have called on a veteran of electronics and a rising name in machine music.

Ed Upton (aka DMX Krew), has an awe inspiring back catalog. To most he is a well known name, an artist releasing under a dizzying spread of pseudonyms for over two decades. Fresh from his latest on Central Processing Unit Mr Upton is sticking to his DMX Krew nom de plum for Micro Life. Electro is the serving, a cold bed of bass and snapping beats deliver “Undesirable Element.” Clinical throbs and mechanic judders are maintained for “Reduced Instruction Set.” Upton begins to soften those hard melodies, warmer keys warbling and shimmering under oscillation pressure. But those spikes of ice are never far away, “Knights Of The Eastern Calculus” is full of aggressive tweaks and unfriendliness. The title track staggers arpeggios against walls of toughened bass and sharpened points of snare before gently charred bars lift. Terse and stringent chords run up until the final piece. “X Is An Integer” allows faint shards of light to break through the opaque chill, textured chords enveloping the last murmurings of the machine.

For Abstract Acid the corrosive currents of Elec. Pt 1, Andreas Gehm, are once again drafted in. Gehm has been busy of late, releasing full length albums and continuing his descent into abject synthesizer damnation. The German artist is no stranger to Abstract Acid, serving up We Play Acid back in 2011. The leaden mood of “A Groove” opens. Distorted vocals hark back to the days of dirty Chicago House. “Gettin’ Hot” introduces more layers. Drum patterns roll into one another, the threat of a break building amongst the toms and claps. A steady 4/4 and clap arrangement sees in “Return 2 Non-Nonsense.” Gehm has a knack for creating looming atmospheres with bare bones of sound struggling against one another. Drums are again central but looping amongst them are judders of machinery and pulse of electricity. A black and unnerving piece. The flip bears down upon the listener immediately. The ruddy visage of “Forward” bends boards under the weight of condensed bass and hoarse 303 expletives. Dawn is chained, light never entering into this charcoal clad collection. The last blow levels. The Roland machines are in overdrive as beats abuse and melodies hammer and punch.

This latest duo of releases are two sides of a cold coin. Ed DMX’s faces skyward, gazing into cold clouds and frost filled air but with tint of enthusiasm. Elec. Pt 1 looks into what lies below, a dancefloor decaying under stark waves of acrid analogue pressure.

Both releases are available on Abstract Forms.