Mason Yarnell (aka Exclipsect) has moved into more organic territory, shedding the
harsh edges of his beats and dropping some of the persistent noise of his previous
work. What remains are the beats — miles and miles of beats — as Yarnell flirts
with the four-on-the-floor infinite loop of trance.
It’s a bit of an illusion as his tracks are mixed together and the shifts and
changes between tracks bleed into one another. There’s a depth to his lower-end
though, a resolute thump-thump to his bass and a subsonic rumble accompanying the
deeper blasts of sound, that cleaves more to tech-step than trance. The bleats of
noise — like gasps of escaping steam — are rhythmic enough counterpoint to the
heavy beat that the music leans more towards bedroom knob-twiddler territory than
straight up Global Underground fare. It’s as if Exclipsect is trying turn IDM
into a gigantic warehouse rave. It’s big, bombastic, and complex enough that all
of the kids will find some rhythm to twitch to.
Kaebin Yield, on the other hand, is having a full-on love affair with rhythmic
noise. His tracks scream and stomp like the magnified tantrums of elemental
infants; they break down and welt themselves back together with the sheer force of
their hammering energy. He starts with an innocent tone like an approaching
sunrise, but once the sun hits the horizon, steam rises off the surface of the
world and everything starts cooking. Blasts of noise begin to howl and the beats
become monolithic rocks tumbling together as if an entire mountain has uprooted
itself and is coming down in the avalanche.
It’s a headlong rush towards a cataclysmic singularity as the noise saturated
beats, the shards of plasticine melody and the calculated howls of static energy
all collapse inward as if they are being suctioned up by a immense magnetic
field. Rhythms fray as the magnetic forces tear off their organic sonority,
leaving behind a metallic and industrial clatter. Melodies keen and whine from
being distorted as incredible torque is applied to them by the whirlwind
laceration of the fractured beats. This is the industrial breakcore of a
thoroughly mechanized world.
As a teaser, Symbiosis has done its job on me: I’m hooked, and am looking forward
to the two full length releases by Exclipsect and Kaebin Yield. As an independent
release, Symbiosis is entertaining enough that it is a shame that is having a
limited run. It’s worth grabbing before it disappears.
Symbiosis is out now on Hive Records.
