XY0815 :: This Tool Has No Options (YUYAY)

It is wonderful to see YUYAY back releasing. It is a label that has always sought out eclectic and open styles, refusing genre pigeonholes in its pursuit of lesser heard music. XY0815’s This Tool Has No Options is a sure expression of this mandate. An LP that took its cue from the past with tracks that will undoubtedly continue to sound fresh for years to come.

Ruffled by braindance knob tweaks

For the last three years, YUYAY has been silent. The label went dormant following the boss’ own Yskayan Knowledge 12″ in 2022. This isn’t to suggest that Robyrt Hecht hasn’t been busy. Between co-running Clear Memory and his own record store, Sleeve ++, and making his own music, the Leipzig based artist is burning the candle at every possible end. Now, YUYAY is back in breathing new life by exploring its own back catalog for inspiration.

2018: When XY0815 first released This Tool Has No Options, the world was a very different place. We were already in the grip of strongman politics and war. However, the more recent incarnations of both seem to have decided to opt for the creatine and steroid diet. COVID-19 was unknown. Tariff? How times change, eh. But, in many respects, the LP does gaze into the past to find its essence.

Across thirteen fragments, this debut album shows a more tender side of XY0815. The press release from the time describes the release as “a modern take on Rephlexish-Warpy IDM.” On listening to the collection, the immediate comparison that comes to mind if Bochum Welt’s Module 2. Tracks are short, often running for three minutes, with colder electro motifs folded into warmer machine musings. While the influences of the late ’90s and ’00s permeate the vinyl, the style and sound are uniquely the artist’s own.

Ephemeral and shrouded in a mist of reverb ::

The opening couplet, “16mbit” and “94V-O,” are ephemeral and shrouded in a mist of reverb. Somewhat firmer ground is found with the broken beats of “GP-20 Accelerate,” squirming lines wriggling free as dauby basslines bloom. The true reality is that the listener is never sure footed on this excursion, XY0815 sketches with floating notes and weighty shifts. And many of the pieces are sketches, short and flighty works that surface before disappearing back into the speakers. “Karl-Heinz Günther” tethers the listener to a guideline. Through a haze of distortion, terse hi-hats penetrate as a melody that borders menace takes form. “Join My Sunday” is one of the three pieces that did not appear on the original release. Playful and off-kilter, the track is an ode to 8bit sounds as it reimagines the golden age of home video-gaming.

The flip is introduced by “Fuck Mars, We’re On Earth Now.” Like its predecessors, this is a short-lived gentle creature. Scuttling percussion is draped into warm analogue notes in a work that ends soon after it begins. Although the brevity chosen by XY0815 can, at points, mean that avenues are not fully explored, it also lends a freshness to the forty minute LP. Each offering is different, distinct and delivers its own message. In fact, the longest piece comes in at just under six minutes. “The Square of Any Planet” is measured and multilayered. A vast assortment of elements come together, acid dipped key stabs, crisp percussion and glitch interjections, to produce a considered and understated work. Closing is the second longest of the album. “Simple Square Walk” is born from the same composition as “The Square of Any Planet.” Elegant overtones are ruffled by braindance knob tweaks, a blend of sci-fi electro and tongue-in-cheek machine chicanery to close.

It is wonderful to see YUYAY back releasing. It is a label that has always sought out eclectic and open styles, refusing genre pigeonholes in its pursuit of lesser heard music. XY0815’s This Tool Has No Options is a sure expression of this mandate. An LP that took its cue from the past with tracks that will undoubtedly continue to sound fresh for years to come.

This Tool Has No Options is available on YUYAY. [Bandcamp]