Stratowerx :: CLS001 (Caught London Sleeping)

This little known artist serves up three tracks of frigid mechanics with Cultivated Electronics boss Sync 24 adding the remix support. The style pursued is stripped back, bare bones machine funk.

London has never really lived up to its electronic music potential. Of course there are a spread of labels oozing out of that melting pot, but each floats alone. In spite of the critical mass and size of the English capital it has never had a cohesive scene or identity. Yet in the last few years there has been a shift, labels like Brokntoys and club nights such as Scand have been fertile ground for a burgeoning electro community. New artists and imprints have been springing up, sprouting and flourishing. A new bud has just developed, Caught London Sleeping debuts with Stratowerx.

This little known artist serves up three tracks of frigid mechanics with Cultivated Electronics boss Sync 24 adding the remix support. The style pursued is stripped back, bare bones machine funk. “Mono Mind Cypher” is surgically precise. Tight biting beats, clinical chords and computer whispers merge in a vacuum. “Paralaxis” is a similar beast. Snares snap with bass lines coarsened in feedback. But behind this hardened countenance lie softer notes and warmer tones. The flip is submerged, Stratowerx ducking beneath the sinewaves for the isolated and aquatic “Secret State.” Sync 24 maintains the marine murkiness whilst lifting drums out of the depths with a touch of groove.

Stratowerx is a resident at Scand, a night established by Cultivated Electronics. And it’s obvious that the London producer is steeped in the cryogenic electro fluid. Brittle and sharp, this first outing on Caught London Sleeping is a very well executed example of the genre. Whether or not the label will follow a line of frigid machine funk, only time will tell; either way, their first steps show real intent.

CLS001 is available on Caught London Sleeping. [Purchase]