Varum has delivered an EP that is hard hitting while being subtle and understated. Angular percussion is softened by delicate synthwork, metallic clang soothed by a human touch. A very accomplished debut release.
Forget Berlin, if it’s a true grass roots electronic music scene you’re after look now further than Leipzig. I’ve written, more than once, about the fertile environment of the East German city, fecund ground for a spread of artists and labels. One such imprint that is thriving is the electro focussed Pulse Drift, a label ready to bring a new name into the family.
Trade Policy label boss and part of Clear Memory, Varum has shared vinyl space with the likes of Dj Overdose and is now going it alone with Shadow Copy. Four tracks make up this wax debut. “System Restore” introduces. Juddering basslines, shuddering melodies and a rasping snare encircle from the outset. Brooding tones are countered by spiking keys in an opener that smolders with a fiery intensity. That same ability to balance darker elements and brighter sounds is ever present in the elating scales and inviting pads of “Defragmented Data.” A colder hue takes over for the flip. Despite the clinical beats and calculated bleeps of “Blocks”, elements from the more frigid margins of electro, there are currents and movements within the piece to thaw the icy blasts. Varum enjoys to let BPM’s rise, using the energy of those speeding tempos to send notes spinning and soaring. This comes to the fore in the finale. “Funktion 3” races on slender rhythms, atop which dance and twirl bewitched keys.
Pulse Drift continue to go from strength to strength. Under the wide banner of machine funk, Varum has delivered an EP that is hard hitting while being subtle and understated. Angular percussion is softened by delicate synthwork, metallic clang soothed by a human touch. A very accomplished debut release.
Shadow Copy is available on Pulse Drift.
