In rotation for the past several weeks, this multi-view reveals the latest sonic landscape from 10 talented musicians. Plenty of brittle, glitch, abstract, noisy, mechanical and bass-infused sounds with releases by Bewwip, BLAEN, Cathode Ray Tube, Hatch, Ignatius, Tunnel One, and a compilation featuring Oosr, Langer, 01Cerulean and Bass Junkie.
Bewwip :: E Drive EP (Analogical Force)
Brisk, expansive, and frequency bending glitch, noise, breaks, acid, and electro are all rolled into one. The five tracks on E Drive run rampant and with a carefully crafted dose of old-school appeal. Aphex Twin references aside, Bewwip curtails normalcy exhibiting soundtrack glimpses in each slice—reference “WRGV COMPILE”—and its acid drenched breaks, beats, and wicked distortion. The frenetic side is fully explored on tracks like “FINALLY EARLY 2 6B 1″—grabbing the listener firmly and driving a wedge between drill’n bass and rugged bass manifests. The relaxed “SQUIDGYCID4” takes the above-mentioned notes and cools them off for a downtempo trip through blissful acidic rhythms as “BS3” ventures into a melodic stream of modular fluids.
BLAEN :: #2 (Welsh Modular Alliance)
With their debut (#1, also on Welsh Modular Alliance) described as “a delicious acidic modular soup,” BLAEN continues to muster the finest in melodic, glitch, and acid tones on their sophomore release. While it’s only been a few months since #1, #2 ravages through similar moments, its trove of rhythmic smudge, sludge, and smoldering beats run into thicker melodic strands and acid squelches. While Aphex Twin and recently un-archived RX-101 parallels shouldn’t be hard to resist, the darkness buried deep with these five cavernous voids are both mysterious and infectiously smooth start to end. Listen to the disjointed Gescom-esque “Jich Rising” and “BLAEN105” for a dosage of the Welsh artists’ definitive leftfield electro acid-wash signature. What’s a pleasant surprise is the reprise of “MS-1 (Part 1)” and its tranquilized ambient twin—Part 2—which closes off this otherwise bumpy and mind bending release.
Cathode Ray Tube :: Abnormal Daddy EP (Voidstar Productions)
Charles Terhune’s Cathode Ray Tube moniker is now revealed via five crunchy selections courtesy of Boston’s Voidstar Productions and the gritty Abnormal Daddy EP. Opening with modular encrusted breaks on “Davinc1,” the buried tones and drones of IDM’s past are at once raised by way of broken beats and flickering sound bytes. The industrial is certainly not dead on this EP either—tracks like “Kinder Than Knives” dip and dive into hardened rhythms albeit with an air of buzzing electrical activity. “Devonikant” rips apart its surroundings with microscopic sonic bubbles bursting from the seams—the cacophony of miniscule thuds take over as a sort of Mouse On Mars versus Fennesz shell is elevated with textural form. Abnormal Daddy reveals CRT’s consistent knack for obscure, multifaceted electronics with an abnormal pulse.
Hatch :: HATCHISM (Section 27)
One simply cannot get tired of fine-tuned (and de-tuned) acid electro as Hatch returns to home bass for Section 27. The mind-altering sonic forces become sublime as each track on HATCHISM exude a certain power and fury. Graffiti breaks melded to blips’n bleeps are grounded by ragga notes and rolling low-end. Broken old-school (dub) techno is also plastered across these ten pieces—sometimes slowed down and oftentimes refueled with extra details. Hatch carefully weaves just the right amount of acid tones and downtempo electronics to cultivate his own style, one that stands the test of time. The Versions EP—a bonus release book-ending HATCHISM is a welcomed retreat—its renditions darker and deconstructed, act as a stand alone extended player that is abundantly moving and firmly connected to its counterpart albeit with a (dare we say) lighter musical approach.
Ignatius :: Orange Corner EP / Tethered EP (Buried In Time)
It’s best to blend and mix these two articulated extended players from the multi-talented Ignatius who has just released (again) on the ever-dependable Buried In Time imprint from the Pacific Northwest. While it will be difficult not to parallel these ear-shattering tunes with Autechre’s more current installments such as NTS Sessions and elseq 1–5, Ignatius lets it all out in a seamless foray via extraterrestrial modular madness. Like machines seemingly chattering among themselves, there are literally hundreds upon hundreds of smoldering sounds that lap, intersect, and expand outward on these ten (conjoined) abstracts. Whether you’re listening with headphones, in your vehicle, or on a decent hi-fi system, each of these extended sonic slices (ranging from 5-mins to 12-mins) contain an otherworldly charm—a plethora of corrosive beats, bass, and blinding experimental fragments bend, twist, and deform with utter uniformity. And yet, while Ignatius extracts the most arcane notes from his machines, there are also slivers of light that punctuate its tempered outer shell. This light source (or melodic strain) is usually absorbed by percussive chunks of organic material and roughened rhythms only to be filtered down to its smaller parts. A myriad of fluid sounds are often exposed to reveal their unique trajectory only to fade away and be reintroduced in an exploratory form or shape. As surreal as these two collections are, the ability to create such vast electronic soundscapes can’t be ignored. The unusual and often mechanical nature of the music featured here is as much energetically infused as it is supernatural. And although Autechre may have laid the foundations, Ignatius certainly builds upon them with plenty of soul buried deep within its crepuscular core.
Tunnel One :: HOSPITAL EP (Evel)
Broken notes signalling some kind of failure is extracted on Tunnel One’s HOSPITAL extended player—a blistering experimental electronic release that slowly etches its own pathway from acid blips to gravity bent rhythms (reference “Feh Knudge”). Elsewhere you’ll find braindance grooves bulk-headed by pummeling beats and softer melodies harking back to the early days of IDM (“PCarfd-1)”). It all comes to a boiling point, each piece allowed to ebb and flow while a myriad of sound effects teem with an energetic bounce. The vastness of Tunnel One’s sonic signature is unrelenting, bringing together classic IDM structures and carefully eroding them to create a timeless foray of bubbling breaks, bass, and curious sonic fixtures.
V/A :: AW001 EP (Autowerkx)
Such a fine collection of downright skewed electro, bass, dub, and breaks is smashed together for this debut 12″ compilation featuring Oosr, Langer, 01Cerulean and Bass Junkie. The explosive energy hailing from all corners of these four heavy-duty pieces allows the modular machines do what the do best. Broken synthesizers converge as some of the finest low-end tunes are collected from four talented sonic craftsmen. If AW001 is any indication of Autowerkx’s trajectory, we’ll keep our ears firmly planted to hear what’s next. With such an inaugural release of baffling electro, labels like Pyramid Transmissions, Analogical Force, Central Processing Unit (et al) continue to explore similar extraterrestrial electro and its infinite reach while Autowerkx punctuates the scene and propels it forward into 2020.
