My only worry would be that the pressure to pander, to move to easier DJ friendly sounds might elbow emotion, and a desire to express ideas differently, out of the way. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
When I first covered ALLISANDNOT and the partnership of WC0016 and Abono I tried to summarize their style with some comparisons and where their style might fit. L.I.E.S. Lux. Larry Heard. Jamal Moss. Echoes of IDM and warm techno. I’m sticking to that overly broad synopsis on listening to the second installment by this Spain via Berlin out.
This new 12” is more lopsided than the first. Where the debut EP drew on the heady influences of techno, one of my favourite records of last year, this latest comes from more of a house angle, or at least the majority of the outing does. All tracks are untitled, although a name has been lent to the wax: All Is Number.
The opener is a beat centred floor track. Samples orbit, distorted drums and bass with audible feedback giving that vogue of underproduction. Meaty, the track clatters and clamors with strings reducing some of the brute force. The principal occupant, inhabiting all the side B, has similar roots. More pared back than A1, B1 uses looped vocal snippets and the mechanics of Chicago for an interesting but functional piece. For me it’s A2 that really sings. Taking its cue from the forms explored in their first record, the same big and bruising rhythms are in place but behind them skitter delicate bars and droplets of synth. It’s a piece that bends, curves and comes full circle in a wonderfully hypnotic manner.
All Is Number is quite a different beast to Untitled. WC0016 and Abono have tried to showcase, attract a wider audience and show their versatility. And they’ve succeeded, their house credentials stamped with the brooding and grooving A1 and B1. However, it seems that some of the depth of the first 12” has been sidelined. It is in here, undeniably in the shifting currents of A2 yet missing in the others.
What am I getting at? WC0016 and Abono definitely have ability and talent. My only worry would be that the pressure to pander, to move to easier DJ friendly sounds might elbow emotion, and a desire to express ideas differently, out of the way. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
All Is Number is available on ALLISANDNOT.
