1000 Names – Before Sunrise review
Inspired by the sounds of Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, Ras G and a whole heap of other influential beatmakers, this two piece outfit from Eastern Europe formed in 2005 and made their debut on Beatnicks Vol 1 in 2007. This was swiftly followed by a couple of singles, then albums, on Eklektic and Team Acre, via a remix on Svetlana in 2010. Now the duo return with their first release of 2011 on the aforementioned Bristol based label Black Acre (Team Acre’s big daddy) with their wholly unique Before Sunrise EP.
Opening with the eponymous track of the EP, 1000 Names ease us in with chopped up, high-pitched vocal snatches (not entirely dissimilar to early Ramadanman work, in fact), strumming rhythms, tropical, clip-clop beats and mellifluous melodic patterns. Rolling along with ease, the musical narrative is woven with care and attention to detail, focusing in on glitchy moments, before moving on to more pulsating passages, which thrive on the intrinsic movement of the piece. It’s a fascinating journey.
But then, all of a sudden, we are plunged into “Kaleidoscope” which sends us into a parallel universe where the Warp style intentions laid out in their battleplan become more obvious as fluid rhythms, quirky textured SFX and driving energy transcend all. The psychedelic sensibility becomes more and more engulfing as the track continues, with swirling synths, a velvety bassline and enticing groove taking over. Finishing up with Lynx & Hellrazor’s remix of “Pocket Calculator”, we are brought abruptly back to reality by the terse, crunchy beats which punctuate an otherwise synth-laden soundscape. A disorientating vocal snatch adds that air of mystique to the track, with fidgeting beats dancing around seductively. It’s that same experimental naughtiness that we’ve seen before in Lynx tracks such as “Disco Dodo” and more recently “Chess Funk”, but now, collaborating with Hellrazor he explores this at a different tempo and in doing so, cements the release as must for all discerning electronic music fans.
Belinda Rowse
