A well-executed 14-track album that chisels its way through an electrical, beat-invested avalanche of epic proportions.
Wake, aka Matthew M. Hettich, sets up an account with long-running Schematic (directed by Phoenecia duo Romulo & Josh). Having been a fan of the imprint, Wake grew up in Miami and spent a good number of teenage nights sneaking into Schematic shows, according to the release page. The experiences have infiltrated Hettich’s sonic sculptures in the best possible way.
Am Diamond dives directly into intricate, detailed, and synaptic electronic forms—”Made on BART” and “Alienslang” perhaps the crowning achievements of the lot. The title track (“I Am Diamond”) focuses on percussive slicing and jittery, polished glitch melodics and slippery low-end rattling. Its tangent, a remix by Daniel Ruane, takes an industrial path, the skittery blips maneuver through a more aggressive tone. “R-Dymind” segues into the albums’ tactile electro shift, flickering beatwork formed around organized melody stabs. Am Diamond continues to gravitate around fluid jolts, IDM shards, and drum frenzy—as evidenced on “Hyper Myler,” a short running, Squarepusher’esque theme. Elsewhere you’ll find remix support by Knobgoblin (“With Teeth”), where a more agressive beat onslaught glides over. “Uncle” takes a video game trajectory, it smudged bass and brittle pitter-patter crafted perfectly.
As a result, Am Diamond is a well-executed 14-track album that chisels its way through an electrical, beat-invested avalanche of epic proportions. Yet another Schematic album well-suited for general-purpose audio work.
Am Diamond is available on Schematic.
