(11.09.04) Sometimes I listen to breakcore and realize it’s definitely not the most dancefloor friendly stuff, I mean, it’s captivating and you can rave on it, dancing like a madman, but the more groundbreaking artists use massive amounts of DSP, cut-ups and strange time signatures –which is not so immediate for your body. On the other hand, some industrial acts are very good and straight to the floor but they usually sound too retro, like they’re stuck in the previous century.
Synkro is a good compromise between these two extremes. Its pure raw energy, built on breakcore jungle drumloops, distorted as hell and with little to no odd textures. The breaks are more complex, with short samples of classical music, but the main feature of this record is the relentless assault of bone-crushing rhythms. It’s like a danceable version of Fanny, or a jungle version of Converter. Speaking of Fanny, he also did the mastering on this self-titled Synkro release; an excellent piece of work, despite all the noise and distortions, you can distinctly hear every element clearly. These elements are only drums, drums and more drums, but it’s not a clipping mess, and maybe it’s not as trivial as you may think. There’s not much use in discussing one tune or the another –I do, however, appreciated the nice use of breakdowns in “Shloggz” and the nasty scratching in “Decimotor” but the differences end here.
Probably the most hardcore electronic record of the year, Synkro will appeal to (existing fans of) Sublight, Addict and Peace Off. I wonder why there’s no vinyl edition for such monster tunes.
Synkro is out now on Sublight.
