Cos/Mes – Chaosexotica review

ESP Institute delivers the third of a quartet of COS/MES vinyl EPs ahead of the release of the Japanese duo’s eagerly awaited album for the label. The press release claims “Chaosexotica” is COS/MES’s most aggressive arrangement to date and we’re inclined to agree, having had this 12” melt our brains upon first listen. From the relatively simple beginnings of minimal syncopation and intense sub bass, a hypnotic melody grows and mutates brilliantly, pulsing with acidic menace. Eventually it forms the shape of a mid melting synth hook augmented expertly by a choir of vocal harmonies. Asking anyone to try and better such brilliance is the definition of a thankless task, but Thomas Bullock is clearly the exception to the rule as his Welcome Stranger remix is superlative. Clocking in at some 13 minutes, Bullock delivers a stripped back rework that drips with psychedelic intent, the singular throb of the bass the one constant amidst a succession of dubbed out abstract arrangements that burrow deep into your psyche. A remix that should be devastating when played in the right environment: which is around 5am on a Sunday morning in some dark basement with speakers bigger than the dancefloor.

Tony Poland