Rhythmic sound design, modular acrobatics, and bass-heavy, SMPL SMPL takes fractured industrial tropes and intermixes them with rugged downtempo electro.
An explosive sonic journey
Vilnius, Lithuania-based SMPL SMPL’s Mistika, an EP with a half-dozen original tracks set for vinyl, is simply powerful on its own merit. Tack on five remixes on the digital edition by Francois Dillinger, Ivna Ji, Lloyd Stellar, Jauzus The Shining and Arsonist Recorder, and it’s now an explosive sonic journey. Rhythmic sound design, modular acrobatics, and bass-heavy, SMPL SMPL (aka Simas Petkevičiu) takes fractured industrial tropes and intermixes them with rugged downtempo electro. It’s a recipe of fluid electronics from the outer edges, dark and brooding, rolling and rumbling its way through. Have a listen to the opening three tracks (“Crystalization,” “Layers,” and “A Quite Place”)—their penchant for crunchy low-end expanses and soundtrack motifs aligns with artists like Gescom, Einoma, and Richard Devine as well as familiar imprints like Roulette Rekordz (don’t miss SMPL SMPL’s Portals EP from 2021), Cultivated Electronics, and Furthur Electronix. In other words, there’s no mistaking that Mistika is ahead of its time.
“Dark & Dangerous” sets the stage for crumpling glitches, distant drones, and heavy bass echoes as far as the eyes can see. “Vapour” provides additional drifting sound vistas, its beats tangled in a maze of brisk breaks and resounding audio production as “Treasures” floats in reverberating ambient-electronic bliss tethered to emotionally melodic strings of life.
The closing remixes offer additional masterful interpretations. Francois Dillinger unfolds a darker, more menacing version of “Crystalization” as Ivna Ji takes “Layers” through Detroit-inspired synths and technoid sound sculptures. Lloyd Stellar’s rendition of “A Quite Place” douses the original in faster-paced mechanics and hard-hitting beatwork. Jauzus The Shining’s “Dark & Dangerous” remix adds turbulent synth strands and rolling low-end—still just as punchy as the original. Closing with Arsonist Recorder’s “Vapour” remix, Mistika succumbs to its ultimate demise. The vaporous electrical notes still intact, Arsonist Recorder applies ample industrial-electro layers of dust and debris, flowing in parallel to the original, and maintaining the EP’s unavoidable magnetic pull.
Mistika is available on Specimen. [Bandcamp]
