Berlin, but with a Mediterranean disposition and romance.
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Apparent Horizon’s first EP. Hunab and Bule shared the same piece of wax and delivered Hera, four tracks of Industrial tinted electronics, soulful and multi-layered Dub Techno. Berlin, but with a Mediterranean disposition and romance. Jose GVB and Jorge Bule return for a second split EP; Environments.
Hunab opens with the title piece. Seeking chords crisscross one another as a steady pulse punctures the rich analogue bars. The track borders on Ambient. Memories of 90s Techno flood through, autumnal washes and wraith-like vocals blending in this eight minute piece. Bule occupies the flip. “Gorgeous” sees staggered bars echo into the distance, keys floating ever further into the vacuum. Loops draw the listener in, banks of sound colliding and ultimately blending into each other. Bule extends the intensity of “Gorgeous” into “Motora.” A barrier of bulbous bass is built, 4/4 finally plowing its way through. Circles dilate, bulging under Bule’s machinery, as base melodies bend into the minimal.
For some reason I always associate certain genres music with weather. When I hear Industrial Techno or Dub I envision artists from Finland staring into the perpetual grey of water and sky, the ashen aspect amplified by the clawing cold. It surprises me that so many Spanish artists have adopted this darker sound, considering I’m typing this in Madrid in November and its 20C. But maybe there is something to their often warmer line of inquiry. Hunab offers up a cracking piece of music with “Environments.” Rich, lonesome, full and wanting. Bule’s two offers are starker than his tracks on Hera, but nevertheless there is something to be found in their frugality. A solid addition.
Environments is available on Apparent Horizon.
