Compilation One is a welcomed entrance back into the deep recesses of electronic musics past and finds a comfortable home by displaying a varied group of musicians to encompass and encourage the genre.
Copenhagen based Unit Shifter looks to be primed as a new contributor to the ever growing abstract electronic music landscape. Similar to imprints that have come (and gone) including Zod, Konstrukt and Art-Tek, Unit Shifter appeals to a similar dynamic of wide-spanning experimental audible forms which tend to compliment each other as a cohesive bond. Hoping Unit Shifter forges ahead in keeping their roster intact and engaged—some of which already have quite a following and background—Compilation One is a very good starting point to the ever expanding tentacles this music has birthed since the early 2000’s.
Delving into the sonic detours Compilation One inhabits, Bjørn Svin’s opening “Sifumela” incorporates micro blips, subdued glitches and lightly textured ambient bass sheets. Odd Harmonics’ “Sarangi of Light” infuses reggae dub/bass/jungle rhythms surrounded by disjointedly dark atmospheric pressure as Motorwirsts’ “Fltrfk” balances uptempo techno flares and crackling melodic thrusts. Karsten Pflum delivers an annihilating rhythm, scorched baseline and rugged modular deconstruction on “ELEKoverflow_133.48 (KP_CantetMix).” Though most of Compilation One delves into leftfield terrain, Autechrean soil is unearthed via Asynkron’s “Apnø_FM”—crunch ‘n bass, brittle jingles and digital flickering are all in focus here. “Gates of Conscience” by night:dweller is relaxed electronic propulsion meshed to post-chill ranging clicks and submerged cuts. Encompassing the darker side we have E-45 with an ambient abyss titled “Sverige.” Smoldering low-end dust clouds abound as a tough outer shell and sizzling industrial backbone is revealed. “Sverige” does in fact lighten up into a drenched ambient lava flow towards its closing minute. Further to the micro sounds buzzing around, “Distance” from Msds Emil Neilson zooms across in a far off corridor for just over a minute. The Arovane inspired “Asteroids Play” by Russian Corvette unfolds several slabs of calming ambient burrows as the compilation comes to a close with Ekkoflok’s “40 BPM;” a drone breaks into bent clips and odd whirs, changing geometry along the way.
Compilation One is a welcomed entrance back into the deep recesses of electronic musics past and finds a comfortable home by displaying a varied group of musicians to encompass and encourage the genre.
Compilation One is available on Unit Shifter.
