Roland’s infamous bass machine, the TB303, links these musicians with 030303 once again proving itself as the platform for outward thinking acid tinged electronics.
030303 — Outward thinking acid tinged electronics
2020 has been a bad year. But not for everyone. There have been some who have done quite well out of the turmoil that COVID-19 has brought, Amazon for one. Incredibly, some record labels have, through dedication and determination, managed to continue in spite of the circumstances. 030303 is one such label. New names have been drafted to the Utrecht imprint, like the excellent Korre, with seasoned veterans returning, such as Rolando Simmons. Two other names that fall into these categories of expert knob twiddler and fresh-faced freshman are Jared Wilson and Caramel Chameleon.
Jared Wilson is no stranger to 030303, the North American musician having featured on the label’s second compilation. Now this acidbox maestro is being given a full twelve to work his squelching magic in the form of Seeing is Forgetting. The smoking jacket is donned and the lights dimmed for the leisurely basslines of “Sea Friends (Lowtide Mix).” Mr Wilson rushes nothing in this opener, gentle pads and claps giving way to a free-flowing stream of warm noodling notes. That same sense of ease and moderation continues into the title piece. Birdsong and water lap samples over an understated and undulated melody in a track bordering the shores of ambient techno. The liquid motif of “Seeing is Forgetting” follows into “Submerge the Ship.” Snippets of naval reports swim past skittering beats and kicks before we reach the choppy and turbulent eye of the piece where soured synth swells scale and race. The darkest of the quarter is, arguably, the most innocuously titled. “Yogacamp” is a chilling piece, spookhouse synthlines and brooding bass dawning into brighter tones as the track comes to a close.
As well as calling on modern masters, 030303 are digging through the net to find the next. After surfing netlabels and putting out his own productions, Caramel Chameleon cuts his first vinyl release. Inspired by braindance and its frenetic energy, this debutant delivers five tracks jittering with life. “Dronacid (Phaseinterlude Mix)” trills with a palpable force, a bottled fervour courses through the filtered kicks and spiralling chords that are never truly unleashed. And this is what Caramel Chameleon does so well. Sounds are untethered and allowed to roam without ever slipping out of control, they are encouraged and nurtured to allow their organic energy to bubble without every boiling over. This is plain to hear in the molten electricity of “Non Ridere” and the billowing elegance of the title piece. There is also a more playful and relaxed side to this 12”, the reflective and vocoder smoothed “Peanut Butter” for example. “Barroco” closes to summarise the style pursued. Brave and daring strings work beautifully with the scaling keys and brittle beats of this superb finale.
These two records are from artists at quite different points of their career. Wilson has been a mainstay of the acid world for more than a decade now with Seeing is Forgetting signalling a more introspective audio journey. Caramel Chameleon is now beginning to find a deserved audience, his offerings bursting with energy and enthusiasm. Roland’s infamous bass machine, the TB303, links these musicians with 030303 once again proving itself as the platform for outward thinking acid tinged electronics.
Both releases are available on 030303.
[Seeing is Forgetting | Solitario]
