Vapr Core is technically flawless as it cracks circuit-boards in an already saturated field of experimentalism. There must be something in the Romanian air that allows this prolific musician to consistently craft exuberant soundtracks to C-3PO’s living quarters.
Perhaps it’s the fact that Randomform‘s Vapr Core and Richard Devine‘s Risp EP’s—each composed of four highly-detailed pieces—were released around the same time that lends itself to (obvious) comparison. In as much as I’d like to avoid doing so, one can’t help but feel compelled to meld the two in a seamless flow of mechanical buzzing. Where Risp delves into a void of emotionless yet adventurous tentacles of audio destruction, Vapr Core contains a more human element to it. Opening with “Rellic,” Randomform tosses out a swarm of digitized insects inhibiting a space of their own as they digest the wires feeding their own environment. “Treact” unfolds itself in a sea of muddy snips and snaps darkened by low-rumbling synth effects. The nine-minute “Vapr Core 2.4” breaks through the ashes and carries with it an industrial pulse of disjointed rhythm bursts continually expanding into new formations. Its beat punctuated by crunched slivers, this epic transmission of future worlds is technically packed as it gradually breaks down. “4.6ycle” oscillates acidic fractures buried deep in the undergrowth of windy effects, slow-cooked percussion and sonic distortion. And as you contrast the skills of both musicians (I can only imagine what a collaboration would yield), what differentiates the two is how Randomform is able to coherently marry decayed electrical activity to sheets of leavened glitch instead of just driving modular machinery. Either way you slice it, Vapr Core is technically flawless as it cracks circuit-boards in an already saturated field of experimentalism. There must be something in the Romanian air that allows this prolific musician to consistently craft exuberant soundtracks for C-3PO’s living quarters.
Vapr Core is available on BrainstormLab. [Release page]
