There is a modern interest in the sound of electro, and such an interest has been prevalent for years. Ersatz Audio, Invasion Planete, Stilleben and more took a contemporary stand for the genre. In more recent times Cultivated Electronics, Solar One and Last Known Trajectory are at the forefront of Electro. In this progression, rather than revival, there is another label: Pyramid Transmission.
Is electro having a revival? The second coming of house is obvious, but could the same be said for the clinical sounds promulgated by the likes of Aux 88 and DJ Stingray? There is a modern interest in the sound, and such an interest has been prevalent for years. Ersatz Audio, Invasion Planete, Stilleben and more took a contemporary stand for the genre. In more recent times Cultivated Electronics, Solar One and Last Known Trajectory are at the forefront of electro. In this progression, rather than revival, there is another label: Pyramid Transmissions. The UK label has been releasing for over ten years, but has been quiet of late. Time for a return with a double LP compilation in the form of Intersteller Communications Vol. 1.
On listening, it soon becomes apparent that Pyramid Transmissions have a certain interpretation of Electro. Label boss ADJ gets under way with the pulsating medley of “Beats N Rhino.” A steady beat allows melodies to orbit astral plains in a cerebral work that blurs the typical lines of the genre. Velocs “Bex Rux” is a split between abrasion and absorption, floating harmonies draped over sharpened beats. Datacrashrobot offers up a less evolved piece of glitched electro. Sinister elements loom across the album, definitely coming to a head with Hatch’s evil eyed “Birth Slab” and taken up again by Ben Milstein in “Pulsar.” There’s an electronica current running through the circuitry of this record, one rarely found today with electro. “Full Flight From Reality” closes with a digitized breakbeat feel, elements of glitch and blip submerging in the crunch.
Intersteller Communications Vol. 1 is rooted in electro, but the growth of these roots is somewhat erratic. Electronica is undeniably present, at times some of the more splintered hip-hop sounds of Skam or Prefuse 73 appear. Some aspects of ICV1 are scattered and a bit fuzzy and there’s an attempt to emulate the sounds of Arpanet or Der Zyklus coupled with shattered beats. Pyramid Transmissions is a label with promise and one that is willing to take risks—some less calculated than others—with new artists.
Interstellar Communications Vol 1 is available on Pyramid Transmissions. [Release page]
