Cos/Mes – Gozmez Land review

ESP Institute graces our shelves with the second COS MES 12 inch ahead of what’s rapidly becoming a very eagerly awaited album here at Juno HQ. “Gomez Land” is typical of the Japanese duo’s ability to craft uniquely hypnotic techno music from less than common sounds. If you can imagine the noises of a tropical rainstorm being rearranged to a captivating 4/4 rhythm then your ears will welcome what unfolds on the A Side. The brilliance in COS MES is the ease with which they slip between sounds within the confines of a track, most notably in the mid point section where a gentle but insistent piano riff loops around your brain augmented by snapping kick drums and ethereal vocal edits before being engulfed by a steadily rising acid drone and wood block rhythm. This is rich electronic music that grabs your attention for a different reason with each successive play.

ESP call on TBD, the rising stars of the NYC Disco axis, to give the track some added thump and Justin Van Der Volgen and Lee Douglas duly oblige, complementing the brilliance of the original with a cascading acid line here, heavily dubbed effects to the percussion there and a liberal dose of dynamism added to the bass. All the elements combine with blazing radiance on the mid point descent into industrial white noise. The ascent from this into a demonically insane synth line that rides the track out marks a master class in remixing. Brilliance all round.

Tony Poland