Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Black Magic Cannot Cross Running Water

God damn. Can Blackest Ever Black do any wrong? Complementing their existing roster of dark ambient, minimal and industrial artists, their latest release comes from Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement, who's black magic rituals for Hospital Productions so far have been utterly superlative. Stretching synth tones and industrial malfunctions out until they attain monolithic proportions, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement craft a form of ambience that drowns modern electronics in a brutalist swamp of afro-dread. Whilst previous releases have drawn comparisons to Raime, with their skeletal beats and noticeable dub-influence, Black Magic Cannot Cross Running Water is a mostly beatless affair more indebted to Carpenter, Lustmord and Frank Bretschneider - the second track Refugees From Black Magic opens with a strangely ominous patter of rainfall that develops a loping half-rhythm before being subsumed under a wash of crepuscular synth noise. Top quality music.

Miles - Faint Hearted

Miles Whittaker, who's had his fingers in acts as diverse as Pendle Coven, MLZ, Millie and Demdike Stare basically gives us massive nerd-boners with every new release, and has chosen to follow up Demdike Stare's obnoxiously heavy Test Pressing with a full-length album under his own name. Boiling down everything from contemporary electronica and techno, to retro Chicago and old-school jungle, it's a seething mass of intricately engineered sounds, smothered in distressing levels of noise - opener Lebensform takes the fairly ubiquitous filter-house / dub techno sound and pushes it to a terrifying level of extremity, dissolving into a wall of white noise and oscillation. It just gets weirder from then on, and definitely takes a good few listens to get into.

Dense & Pica - Crispy Duck

I can't say the title's really doing it for me, but Hot Flush's latest 12" from the anonymous duo Dense & Pica is some quality prime-time techno that nods to Berghain and Tresor as much as to the Motor City, and occupies similar ground to some of Redshape's old school throwbacks. Their whole deal of hand-stamped, limited run vinyl is a nice touch - working the anonymous angle without getting into some over-worked game of Clue about it- as well as giving their records a nice sense of individuality. 31's unstable house riff is killing for me right now.

Recondite - DRGN / Wist 365 (Hot Flush, Out Now)

Recondite - DRGN / Wist 365 (Hot Flush, Out Now)

I didn't get a chance to give this props before its release, but Recondite's work continues to impress me. It's not massively genre-breaking stuff that he puts out, but there's something about the his delicately vintage take on techno that appeals strongly to me - not the raw, aggressive vintage of old acid house, but the soft, warmly produced sound of classic analogue kit. This neat little two parter doesn't complicate matters with wild drum patterning or big drops, but sets up simple loopy riffs and lets it all unfold. On one side, DRGN drops a wickedly vibrating bassline, building up a slow-burning filter shift backed by taught percussion to make for a solid techno tune - something like Redshape, taken down a notch or two. For me, the flipside's where it's at, cooking a couple of simple analogue key riffs for nine minutes, shifting the decay or the pitch every now and then to switch up a little. Recondite really makes the most of a minimal palette, making every aspect count, and when the clap starts up at the four minute mark, Wist 365 translates the slow-burning energy into a quality house groove. It's not a peak-time destroyer or a definitive anthem of any sort, that's for sure, but I'm in love with the rolling pace and rich sound that's going on here, so listen out for it on the radio show.

DFRNT - El Spirito (27 Aug, Echodub)

DFRNT - El Spirito (27 Aug, Echodub)

Long-time DFRNT fans, it's always exciting to catch new releases from the 'Burghian producer, and El Spirito, released in advance of his forthcoming second album, is a pretty fine piece of cross-genre electronica. Leaving aside the shuffling garage-isms that usually underpin his work, the title track is a solidly kick-driven splay of bleep melodies, tape-wound vocals, and those trademark warm chords that just about passes for house music. Despite the more driven percussion, the atmosphere is still melancholic and smoked-out, hyper-extending every chord and vocal riff to sprawl somnambulantly across the mix. On the B-side, Work Harder is akin to Scuba or Ramandanman's cross-genre material; mixing the skittering percussion of garage/house with DFRNT's distinctive chord washes, and a powerful sub-bass that teems beneath a low-pass. It's a strange mix of the subtle and the brutal, and in typical fashion, the production's fuzzy and heavily-filtered, with the bass straining to break loose, whilst the high-end continually spreads.
El Spirito shows a definite evolution in Cowles as a producer, able to handle a more diverse palette of styles whilst retaining a signature sound - the closer Homeward, which ought to be a filler B-side or a lazy dub is a strange 110bpm trip-hop / electro-pop hybrid that breaks new ground and brings a real depth to what was otherwise a fairly straight up DJ 12". Featuring renowned Scots / Gaelic folk singer Joy Dunlop, Cowles matches languorous vocals with aquatic washes of synths to produce a surprisingly radio-friendly dark pop song that indicates great things to come from Fading. However, for those familiar with Cowles already extensive back catalogue, El Spirito does bear marked similarities to a lot of his already existing material - the signature sound of big chords, comfort reverb etc perhaps needs to be switched up in the near future. Intriguing nonetheless.

Perc - A New Brutality

 Perc - A New Brutality (Perc Trax 29 Jun)

Perc Trax latest EP is more of what you'd expect from the label that's established itself as the port of call for brutalist techno - unrefined, uninhibited, noisy and drug-fuelled sonic battery. From the no-signal tone that opens the record, and the sweeps of white nosie, to the double-kicks and murderous bassline, the title track is the kind of brilliantly devastating industrial techno that is to speed what The Melvins are to Afghan black. With a sense of mechanistic decay and corrosion seeping through, Perc pushes his meltdown to a place somewhere beyond the dancefloor, but with just enough to rythym and drive to keep it techno. Whilst Boy is similarly devolved techno, there's far more melody and warmth involved, and it with it's half-step and breakbeat influences, seems to be aiming for the kind of ground Surgeon occupied on last year's Breaking the Frame. It's on Cash for Gold and Before I go that Perc really comes into his own, displaying strong Cabaret Voltaire / post-punk influences and moving into the realms of experimental electronica without losing his techno grounding - the former sees Perc working his favoured brokenbeat style, with analogue bleeps and groans crafting a mournful landscape. The latter serves as a dark coda to the record, combining piano and organ chords with malfunctioning machinery and scratchy tape delay reminiscent of Max Richter. Both tracks apply a similar aesthetic of decay and antiquity via brooding melodies and lo-fi recording quality, and the end result feels like a silent film soundtrack, tying in with the starkess of the cover.

The title track may be AFX level of Rargh-techno masochism, but the 'new brutality' Perc unveils is more of the slow-burning, brooding emptiness than predictably unrelenting noise, and there's moments of beauty to be found in the darkness. One of their better releases.

Untold - Caslon / Breathe (Hemock, 25th June)

Untold - Caslon / Breathe  (Hemock, 25th June)

Hemlock continues to impress with an unsurprisingly solid 12" from head honcho Untold, which channels a very satisfying amount of Berghain darkness, shot through with subtle melodies and counter-rhythms. Whilst Untold's biggest strength is his fluid percussion and complex approach to rhythm, I've always been particularly keen on his lower end landscapes; the strange way that he manages to combine both misanthropic gloominess and a surprising amount of delicacy in his subs and basslines. Check out his work on Round Black Ghosts for proof. Caslon takes an entirely different root - with an arpeggiated acid synth bludgeoning the listener, it's way more aggressive than previous works. Complementing this more hard-nosed aesthetic is some beautifully over-driven percussion, with the white noise on all the hats and cymbals turned up to a wickedly distorted level that recalls Karl O Connor's work with Peter Sutton. On the flip, Breathe adopts a more late-night
house feel, mixing classic garage-house with sparkling keys that recall Claro Intelecto's early analogue fanboyisms. The problem is that Untold never really gets beyong fanboyisms, despite the mentally innovative nature of Stereo Freeze (RandS ), and with the current wave of Berghain-fixated UK producers, this doesn't stand out as much as Can't Stop This Feeling or Anaconda. It's not that either of the tracks on this 12" are bad (Caslon's definitely getting rinsed), but that considering the cross-genre masterpieces Guy Andrew's been dropping on Hemlock, this feels limited in its scope, and slightly masturbatory.

In 2012, dubstep is at best an ill-defined concept, and at worst, an excuse for terrible rave music; it's very satisfying to see once "dubstep" labels like Hemlock, Hessle and Hot Flush shaking off the last vestages of that shroud and turning out great dance music, period. Untold's definitely a big part of that change, but as good as these tunes are, they lack that ineffable je ne sais quo, or "what the fuck is this?" factor to make them truly great.

ELA ORLEANS - NEO PI-R (CLAN DESTINE)

Ela Orleans - My Friend Angel from klaus von barrel on Vimeo.

"Originally released on tape and now out on sweet vinyl. Featuring 16 multi-layered and deeply personal tracks.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if Young Marble Giants recorded in Black Ark under the direction of Brain Wilson in his sandbox era, you may be able to visualize the music of Ela Orleans without actually hearing it. NEO PI-R is sparse, but filled with both whimsy and deep brooding symbology.

This is post-punk from the Gaslamp Era.

Ela Orleans manages to utilize some of the more standard trappings of experimental music, toy piano sounds, dub and phase techniques and dead pan vocals.

Track titles exist, but it is best to just let this album flow from song to song… and get lost in its delirium dream."

This record is heartbreakingly beautiful. Lo-fi, Brechtian pop songs filtered through a haze of shoegaze, analogue experimentalism and lo-fi noise. Ela Orleans on Clan Destine Records. The vinyl is a gorgeous piece of work too, amazing cover, and it sounds fantastic.

BUY NOW FROM CLAN DESTINE

Sigha - Abstractions I-IV

Sigha - Abstractions I-IV (Hot Flush, 20 Feb)

Awww yeah. Sigha's new 12" for Hot Flush expands his range even further and confirms him as one of the most consistently interesting producers of modern electronica, blending industrial, drone and techno to brilliant effect. Whilst previous EPs have been a solid blend of techno and dubstep, with one more surreal number tacked on, Abstractions is firmly centred around Sigha's more disturbing machinations, with only How To Disappear working a conventional techno groove. Opener Something in Between Us is a beatless, glacial drone sketch, channeling a fair dose of Eno or Ulrich Schnauss and building up a wall of ambience that peters out far too soon for my liking. Working with a similarly frosted aesthetic, Sigha continues with the Autechre-esque Where I Come To Forget, which delivers a pallete of blips and snarls that continually threatens to morph into breakbeats, but resolutely fails to ever kick off. The absence of notable breaks and drops will doubtless infuriate, but the cold, mechanistic feel that permeates the record translates beautifully to repetitive, minimal structures.

As the title suggests, Abstractions appears to composed of extracts from live jams, with more attention given to sculpting sounds than to crafting DJ tools, however How To Disappear's eventual four-to-the-floor rhythm makes for great dark techno. With its gasping reverb and three-note melody, it sits somewhere between Sleeparchive and Regis and begs to be given a workout on full soundsystem. Closing off the record is Drown, and appropriately aquatic, polyrhythmic dub-techno number that feels similar to the Black Dog's more recent industrial experiments, albeit without their gift for a strong technoid narrative. Whilst the overall minimalism and lack of drive may render the EP less accessible to some, Sigha's ear for sound and dynamic continues to improve, and it's an enjoyable challenge to DJ with.

Coki - Don't Get it Twisted

Coki - Don't Get it Twisted (DMZ 23rd January)

DMZ have done a great deal of good as part of London's bass music scene, and I was particularaly vocal about Mala's epic remix of the Moritz Von Oswald Quartet; their cross-over into more techno-influenced territory and gigs in Berghain have only served to cement my respect for the work they do. However this record from Coki feels like a step backwards, a regression to dubstep's ket-friendly, strictly-formula blend of massive basslines and loping percussion that feels tired and done to death. Tree Trunk opens the record promisingly with Carpenter-esque horror-synths and breathy atmospherics, building the kind of hypnotic dub Pinch or Martyn do on their best days. And then the bassline comes in. All nippy high-end and wrenching pitch shift, it murders the majority of the mix and is an unpleasantly abrasive addition to what was shaping up quite nicely - when the drop hits, it reverts back to being a well-engineered, intriguing track. Following it up with Lower Octave, Coki fires back in with exactly the same kind of nagging look-at-me sawtooth synthline that dominates everything in sight, and the predictable one-and-threes kick & snare pattern. Obviously it's a question of taste, but in comparison to the substantial body of work Coki had amassed, and the reputation of DMZ, this feels immature and badly-worked.

The biggest shame about this record is that the second plate is a pretty solid piece of work - Celestial Dub's hydro-inflected organ is a thing of beauty and adds a much needed dubby element to the record, offsetting it with mental levels of delay on everything. Everything. Leaving aside the brain-melting basslines, Coki builds up a very competent and blissfully stoned steppa's riddim that deserves a good run out. The fourth side of this EP again throws a total curveball, and garners that same "what the hell has he been smoking?" reaction that Boomba brought out - the bassline flip-flops around, contorting and meandering, whilst a plethora of Bomberman melodies skew across the top. It's as abrasive as anything off the first disk, but the level of surrealism and completely over-the-top nature make it a genuinely interesting piece of work. Buy the tracks digitally.

KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS - CAMPUS MARTIUS EP [PLANET MU]

Greek synth experimentalists Keep Shelly In Athens have caused quite a splash of late, with hype from Pitchfork and The Fader among others. On December 5 they drop their first release-proper on Planet Mu, after a fantastic remix of Mouves by Tropics, earlier this year. The new EP is a 4-track 12" release featuring their majestic, Italo-influenced remix of 'Cub' by Solar Bears, plus three new tracks. Vocalist Sarah's beautiful melodies are drenched in (but never obscured by) reverb and FX, while the bands multi-layered synths and stuttering electronic percussion keep subtle, minimal time.



This release perfectly showcases the experimental pop side of Planet Mu, one of Britain's best electronic labels, and one that consistently pushes boundaries. Keep Shelly In Athens are a bold signing, because of their marvellously atemporal sound: they manage to balance forward-thinking production and science-fiction-feeling sonic motifs with clsasic songwriting techniques and melodies, which recall Cocteau Twins, Curve and Massive Attack.

This hits all the right notes - ethereal shoegaze vocals vie with pitch-bent synth lines and complex polyrhythmic drumpad patterns, combining to make songs that are both enchanting and technically impressive. It would be intriguing to know more about Keep Shelly In Athens and their approach to music - what kit and software they use, and where they see themselves fitting in the modern electronic scene. With this high-profile release on Mu, hopefully the band will come to even wider attention, and we'll get to know them better.

For now, have a listen to their Soundcloud page, which includes the magnificent 'Our Own Dream':

Latest tracks by Keep Shelly in Athens

Pre-order 'Campus Martius' from Planet Mu



- post by Texture

Yves De May - Counting Triggers (Sandwell District)

Yves De May - Counting Triggers (Sandwell District, out now)

Moving further and further into the abstract, Sandwell District present a truly surreal double pack from Yves De May, composed of vague, minimalist sketches and empty spaces. Closer to the sub-zero electronica of Sahko, or 6K than the usual Sandwell fare, Counting Triggers elevates minimalism to fetishistic levels, cutting away at the mix to leave only a mass of sparse tones, white noise and dark ambiance. It's difficult to say whether the vinyl-only release is intended to challenge DJs, or appeal more to the collectors, but with more than a passing reference to techno, it's tempting to give it a spin. It's tricky material to work with, doing more to deconstruct techno than to emulate it, and the loping beat that emerges partway through opener Particle Match is quickly drowned out by an ugly groaning bassline. There's a few other moments that have potential too, with Whispering Strokes channeling some of Gas' hard drone stylings, but stripping away all the warmth and comfort in favour of sharpened edges and drill-tipped high-end static. Equally, closing track Resonating Red revolves around a loping dub riff and snatches of surprisingly organic sounding guitar that feels like one of Rod Modell's more introspective (or overblown) extended jams. However, despite the occasional moments of syncopation scattered across the LP, the majority of the record is composed of experiments in sound that share more with impressionist art or sound collage than "music". The magnificent Ice Carrier is definitely a favourite, stretching out analogue pings and synthesiser noise across epic levels of delay and reverb to create a dark sound bath designed to be played loud.

Should this take off, it will mark a significant turning point for Sandwell District, and much as we love Regis' epic techno marathons, it would be fantastic to see them explore a darker, more experimental direction. I'll have this one at full volume for a while yet.

Guy Andrews - Shades / Textures (Hemlock)

Guy Andrews - Shades / Textures (Hemlock, 21 Nov)

Guy Andrews of Iambic / Moving Dawn Orchestra turns his hands to more dancefloor orientated material with this intriguing EP for Hemlock; taking on a more dense, percussive style but retaining his signature warm production, it's intriguing stuff. Shades kicks off in typical Hemlock fashion - skittery rhythms and snare-heavy drum fills that recall Pangaea, whilst warm swathes of synths build up in typical Iambic fashion. Despite the higher tempo and influences from UK funky, it's surprisingly delicate and melodic material, even with the beefy 808 kicks and hefty bass that come in on the drop. Chopping and changing throughout, Andrews uses some seriously convuluted percussive structures and dyamic shifts that are a welcome challenge to DJ with. AA Side Textures similarly skews perceptions, balancing neatly between techno, dub and funky (small f) percussive arrangements, refusing to ever settle into a solid groove to the point of infuriation. Again, Andrews manages to apply a welcome dose of melody and warmth to the UK funky template, and builds a powerful dancefloor tune.
Another big hitter for Hemlock, and really intriguing work from Andrews, who manages to turn out quality dancefloor material without relying on cheap tricks like wobble bass or over-compression. Perhaps a little too subtle for some, but definitely worth watching.

Cottam - Deep Deep Down (Aus Music)

Cottam - Deep Deep Down (Aus Music, 07 November)

Having eagerly followed Cottam's rise to prominence, we welcome his new 12" with open arms - his four 12"s on his own imprint were superlative peices of work, but with very limited pressings and no digital release, superstardom was never going to come easily. Though he's snuck out various remixes and soundcloud giveaways, this is Cottam's only release not on his own imprint since the 12" for Use of Weapons, and with the critically acclaimed Aus Music backing him up, it aught to garner him the recognition deserved. Moving away from his signature slow-groove house, Cottam's begun to channel a more acidic, technoid sound, without losing the funk and soul that make him stand out. With metallic percussion and an acidic synth line, Deep Deep Down channels hints of Jus-Ed and Levon Vincent, peppering the robotic with fluid afrobeat percussion and a wailing saxophone. Like Cottam's previous works, it's a well-crafted long-runner that manages to work a limited pallette of sounds without growing repetitive. Whilst filling an appropriately weird niche with it's reconstructed rhythms and tape screeches, the Vakula remix leaves me somewhat cold in comparison - it's a fun addition nonetheless.
The B-side, Twang returns to Cottam's signature pitched down groove, with funk-inflected guitars and wailing vocal snippets peppering a languid bassline. Contrasted with Cottam's self-titled releases however, both tracks on this 12" are leaning more towards recognisable house and techno rhythms with a definite focus. However, Cottam manages to avoid the stylistic neutering that broadening appeal often equates to (Daft Punk, Wiley, Skream, this means you) and it genuinely feels like Cottam has improved by moving from languid sketches of confused beauty, to fully-realised masterpeices. Quality work from one of the most interesting house producers at the moment.

Wireman - Monobloc

Wireman - Monobloc (Inner Surface Music)

Wireman's debut EP for Prime Numbers made massive waves, stunning everyone from bloggers and DJs to mainstream dance press, leading to Trus'me slightly ludicrously describing him as "A melting pot where Carl Craig, Deepchord, Burial and Drexciya are all put together". Admittedly, there's aspects of all those artists in Wireman's signature style, but the inevitable hype backlash kicked in fairly shortly after. With this new 12" for freshly launched Inner Surface Music, the Paisley-born producer begins to cement his place amongst such big names, with a package of tech-house variants that take in aspects of Burial's post-industrial nihilism, classic techno, and the hazy, sonambulic dynamics of great dub. With a nasty acid bassline and dubby delay work, the title track is great raw-sounding techno that demands to be played loud, and will undoubtedly be making every big name playlist by the end of the year. Slightly less accesible, but my definite favourite is Distance on the flip side, which mimics Andy Stott with it's delicate, yet forceful style - its low-key synth wafts disguising the stripped-back minimalism that holds it together. Repetitive and reductionist without ever growing boring, it builds into a beautifully smacked-out, dreamy climax. Closing off the record is the surreal funk of To The Sleeper, which jacks out off-kilter acid lines designed to fuck shit up at 6am. Quality work - all eyes on Paisley.

The Black Dog - Liber Nox

The Black Dog - Liber Nox (24th October, Dust Science recordings)

The first of the Black Dog's Liber trilogies concludes with a speaker-busting 12" of industrial-tinged darkwave techno that nicely rounds out the previous two releases. Stripping away the four-to-the-floor kickdrums in favour of more breakbeat-inflected material, The Black Dog resurrect the grinding kickdrums and ethereal synths of Liber Church to add a touch of intellectualism to nevertheless brutal techno. High Rise Choir Reprise nods to Bass Mantra with it's meandering, low-passed bassline complementing the floaty synths. Shying away from the 4/4 of the previous records, it's an inherently funky track, contrasting an optimistic, upbeat feel with doomy textures and industrial touches. With both tracks clocking in at healthy 7+ minutes, The Black Dog allow more and more layers to build up in the mix, creating multiple builds and climaxes - by the time the soaring strings enter High Rise Choir Reprise, it's all gone insanely epic. Dissident Bleep on the flipside sticks to much more minimalist palette of sound, relying on the force of its kickdrums and the discordant redux-heavy synths to build new dynamics. It's probably the darkest track in the trilogy, with synthesised vocal samples creating a paranoiac atmosphere, before a suffocating bassline drowns it out. A nice conclusion to the series and a great complement to the album, The Black Dog's latest reinvention is proving one of their most successful yet.

[Dustv031] Liber Nox - The Black Dog - Dissident Bleep by The Black Dog [Dustv031] Liber Nox - The Black Dog - High Rise Choir Reprise by The Black Dog

Lukid - Spitting Bile

Lukid - Spitting Bile (Glum Records, out now)

It's a rare joy, when writing about and analysing music on a near-constant basis, to come across something that causes you stop dead and say "I have no idea what the hell this thing is". Lukid's popped out a couple of these in his so-far-short career - his first 12" on Glum might, if you squinted and gave it the benefit of the doubt, look a bit like house, and his previous majestic efforts for Werk are best filed under "sort of instrumental hip-hop, with more bleep but also some Theo Parrish". So how then to discuss his second 12" for Glum, a four-tracker brimming with ideas and new styles?

Opening with My Teeth in Your Neck, there's shades of Madlib and Dr Octagon, but also a fair heft of wonky house that nods to Moodymann or Shake Shakir; a kick drum beats out a solid 4/4 at 120ish, whilst the hi-hats and claps shuffle about in the mix like a nervous tic. Pitched in some ungodly register, the lo-fi synth channels a bit of Manitoba/ Four Tet wonk, to further confuse the matter. It gets no easier to pigeonhole for the remainder, with Park it Low retreating into more recognisably broken structures a la Onandon, and Dragon Stout heading for 8-bit gameboy territory. Title track Spitting Bile is yet even more WTF?-inducing, building a shuffling breakbeat, throwing in a 4/4, then obliterating it all with a saw-edged synth just as it's starting to build to something, then working its way back down again.

More than just being 'wonky' or experimental, Luke Blair has managed to make something that just feels, well, wrong - the rhythms, key signatures, dynamics and arrangements all push the limits of accepted convention to make a weird geek of a record. And yet, it's somehow very right and very cool.

Four Tet - Fabric Live 59

Four Tet - Fabric Live 59 (19/09, Fabric)

I've never been the biggest fan of Fabric's output as a whole; amongst the undoubted greats (Shackleton, John Peel, Jackmaster), there's a few that date badly (Nitin Sawhney), or really just don't do it for me (John Digweed, LTJ Bukem). Occasionally, they pop out the kind of mix that keeps you fascinated for weeks and totally redefines the idea of a 'mix'. Four Tet's approach to his Fabric mix isn't quite the magnificent slice of awesomeness that Shackleton's was, but it does manage to do away with certain conventions, and surprisingly accurately convey his uniquely weird approach to production and performance. Based around a framework of 90s 2-Step and Grime, Hebden has tracked down vinyl rarities, ripped digital versions from records and recorded found sounds from Fabric itself in an attempt to convey his sense of what a night out feels like, rather than merely blending tracks as anyone else would have been happy to do. It's a headfuck, and stands up as one of Fabric's more unique releases, taking in Burial's mournful Street Halo, C++'s hyperactive Angie's Fucked, compositions Four Tet created especially for the compilation, and crafting them into a surreal musical masterpeice. Definitely one of Fabric's more interesting releases.

The Black Dog - Liber Temple

The Black Dog - Liber Temple (Dust Science Records, 05/09)

The link between Sheffield's heavy industry and its avant-garde electronic ouptut has long been acknowledged by the likes of Cabaret Voltaire, Warp and The Black Dog. The latter's second 'book' in the Liber series (leading into the album Liber Dogma to be released on Soma) sees them laying down some crunching industrial, channeling Sheffield's technological heritage into powerful dancefloor material reminiscent of Dettman or Ancient Methods. Heavy Industry draws it's kickdrums from drop forges and it's hi-hats from steel cutlery production, which in other hands could easily become worthy explorations of samples and little else, but in the right hands becomes utterly devastating. Opening with a deceptively mellow analogue bleep, The Black Dog then proceed to bludgeon the listener with a rapid-fire distorted bassline that shakes cones and devastates speakers, and then that kick drum comes in.

Holy shit.

Mechanistic and brutal, without ever losing any of it's dancefloor credibility or subtle melodies, Heavy Industry manages to at once convey images of industrial Britain and all its character and power, whilst still giving us the kind of late night floor filler that Surgeon or Monolake would consider devastating.
It's a shame then that Greedy Gutter Guru fails to provide the same kind of powerful fix, contentedly chugging along where Heavy Industry hit a hard gallop. There's the same power to the samples - the hi-hats allowing even more of the original clatter to permeate through - but the Detroit-inflected synths detract slightly from the percussive fist-fuckery, and there's less of the emotive dynamics that make the A-side such a beast. Still, there's fun to be had with it, and if this is the mid-trilogy placeholder that paves the way for a devastating finale, the third one ought to be an absolute monster.

Bass Clef - Rollercoasters of the Heart / So Cruel

Bass Clef - Rollercoasters of the Heart / So Cruel (Punch Drunk / out now)

The summer has landed! our very favourite trombonist / dub manipulator Bass Clef drops in with two unique dub-techno variants for Peverelist's Punch Drunk label. As his live shows will attest, Bass Clef isn't one to rely on heavy amounts of technology, prefering to spin simple drum loops and augment them with live improvisations; Rollercoasters takes on similar format, with it's basis in a simple, quaking bassline and a jump-up beat, throwing in chopped-up vocals and a euphoric piano riff. Two parts classic rave to one part Scientist-esque dub work, it's weirdly offbeat, earth-shakingly heavy and totally awesome. So Cruel sees Bass Clef reinterpreting the hard-nosed styles of UK bass bass music in his own loping fashion, throwing in not only a speaker-wobbling sub, but a melodic bassline over the top and scattering a loose percussive pattern across the mix. There's hints of UK funky in the skittery R'n'B inflected vocals, but as usual it's surreal, deep and mildly confusing. Much like Barry Lynn's Boxcutter project, Bass Clef is a truly unique proposition that proves impossible to pin down, and despite this being vaguely in line with Punch Drunks previous releases, Rollercoasters of the Heart is something totally new for Punch Drunk.