The best new singles this week
All hail the supreme leaders of the singles world
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
Donato Dozzy & Sabla – Crono (Gang Of Ducks)
Donato Dozzy was recently labelled a “transcendental” techno artist, which makes a lot of sense given the extra hypnotistic gas that wafts off his music. Ever since he rose to prominence for the style – not only as a solo artist but as a collaborator with greats like Voices From The Lake or Neel – he’s gone down in time as one of techno’s “quiet ones”. I.e., you have to keep an eye on him. Just in case he does anything drastic, like drop an EP.
‘Crono’ was made with the co-founder of Italian experimental label Gang Of Ducks, Sabla, and reflects its stated mission to the minutest detail. Those with even a basic understanding of Italian (don’t flatter us, we know how sophisticated we are) will know its identically named four titles, ‘Crono Flusso’ I-IV, translate to something like “the flow of time”. Makes sense: the EP is indeed inspired by the concept of steady flows of water, thoughts, and energy – none of which would be possible without time, duh. Though it’s been described as a “time bubble”, we feel that this does the EP a disservice.
To us ‘Crono’ is more like a matching set of four time crystals, revelling in otherworldly polyrhythms and effulgent textures to secure a mood of energy-locked perpetuity. Track four is especially great, eschewing beats for massive synth sweeps and sub throbs; it’s as if DJ Healer had left his forensic traces on Dozzy’s studio setup. Anyway, there’s no way Dozzy and Sabla could possibly have fumbled the bag on this one; once more it proves both artists are respective masters of their crafts.
JIJ
Bjarki – Look At Yourself (Differance Engine)
Bjarki has always stood out to many, including us, as a different kind of artist. Though firmly entrenched in the world of dance-ready techno – and for all intents being featured on some very functionally-minded labels and compilations – the Icelandic producer hails from a different meme pool entirely. Born Bjarki Rúnar Sigurðarson, a long involvement in niche music scenes led Bjarki to develop a slick and airy sound, one which pops out like a burst of gas from an otherwise walled-in and often muddy musical tradition.
We hear this on ‘Look At Yourself’ as much as we do on any other EP by the 29-year-old. But this is his best of the year at least! One of a three-part series for Differance Engine, it explores a clean, sizzling, tasteful-minimal, electrovocal sound – all while getting at some intensely grotesque Sophie-esque imagery to boot. A cursory listen reveals this is an EP about narcissism, or at the very least a kind of unhealthy self-consciousness. Spiteful titles like ‘Can You Please Like My Picture’ and ‘I Wish I Was A Model’ lay bare the inner thoughts many of us have, but don’t indulge for fear of coming across as shallow. The latter track resounds like a 2020s electro version of Mistabishi’s ‘Wannabe’, with its deadpan femme vocals autotuned to convey the irony of equating models’ lips to those of fish.
Meanwhile, the shabby cut-up samples, and sharp, one-voiced kickdrum combos of ‘Do You Like Yourself’ continue to convey a similar irony. Another eerily effected voice asks the listener an endless slew of questions, seeming to insatiate our ideas of self and other in the process: “do you like yourself? are you envy me? what is it you like about me? do you think that nice? do you want me? what do you want me to do? do you like me because I look like you? do you want me to be you?” Et al.
Clearly, either Bjarki is just indulging in playful banter around contemporary vanity culture, or he’s genuinely laying out all his own ego-anxieties onto a digital file encoder and wax. Either way, great job.
JIJ
Karkossyn – Troubled Youth EP (UVB-76)
If a lot of the music hovering between techno, dubstep, breakbeat et al is considered a kind of grey area, then UVB-76’s output is on a mission to demonstrate it’s anything but vague. This latest record marks a standout release for Bristol-based producer Karkossyn, and it echoes the rasping malice of previous UVB-76 alumni Pessimist. The drums fall slow and heavy – bomb blasts of percussion more akin to heavy metal than Metalheadz, calling to mind the twisted, New York-hardened illbient inversion of trip hop.
There have been other artists recently probing at this kind of gothic beatdown, such as low key German producer Butterfred and even the more sound design-embellished Isabassi. When the era of nihilistic techno is in full anodyne swing, the gnarled textures and imperfect grooves of these productions feel more viscerally appropriate for the times. ‘Blame Yourself’ sets the tone in no uncertain times – this is not cool and relaxed lifestyle music for your downtempo pleasure, but a half-time spiral into darkness.
‘All This Hate’ actually rolls at a tempo which could bait the dancefloor, featuring a beat which could chime with the 90s sounds of The Dust Brothers and a vibe synonymous with The Matrix soundtrack. But the boom bap drums are embellished with plenty of industrial strength malaise to shake the walls. If you want to slip it into a mix, be prepared for the crowd to get moody as hell.
Karkossyn does show a capacity for subtlety alongside all the deathly drums too, with ‘City Chaos’ stripping away to an unsettling ambient backdrop for a grim-faced poet ruminating on society’s ills. ‘Troubled Youth’ paces its drums more evenly and slips some post-punk esque vocal prostrations into the mix, coming on like the edgiest version of 23 Skidoo releasing a record on WordSound.
No, this record is not going to brighten up your day. But sometimes music is most valuable as a vessel into other emotions, and if you’re in the mood for a downcast outlook, this might just be the perfect soundtrack.
OW
Laibach – Love Is Still Alive (Mute)
Having just announced a show in Kyiv on 31 March, making them the first foreign act to play the Ukrainian capital since the Russian invasion a year ago, Laibach release ‘Love Is Still Alive’ an extension of their soundtrack to Tim Vuorensola’s 2019 film, ‘Iron Sky – The Coming Race’, which is set for release late this year, along with a video game. Yup.
A 40-minute suite in eight parts, ‘Love Is Still Alive’ is a proper flexing of muscle from the eastern European mavericks. The EP tracks the journey of the last remnants of mankind as they head towards Mars and salvation in third millennium. The music within goes on its own journey through the genres. You’ll be pleased to hear they chuck the kitchen sink at this, it’s glorious stuff. ‘Star Trekkin’’ it is not.
The first side opens with the country and western twang of ‘Love Is Still Alive I (Moon, Euphoria)’ which morphs seamlessly through the rattling synthpop of ‘II (Venus, Libidine)’ and ‘III (Mercury, Dopamine)’ and into the riotous krauty Doors-y, Suicide-y wig-out of ‘IV (Neptune, Oxytocin)’.
The flip side mellows out as we drift further into the expanses of space. Opening with the atmospheric arpeggiations of ‘V (Uranus, Prolactin)’ it melts into the ambient heartbeat of ‘VI (Saturn, Insomnia)’ and on to ‘VII (Jupiter, Tristitia)’, where we meet the ghost of that opening C&W twang (reminiscent of Eno’s ‘Apollo’). We then arrive at ‘VIII (Mars, Dysphoria)’ the finale that reprises the lyrics from the opener. The message? We might have destroyed our planet, but there’s always hope so long as love is still alive. Let’s hope they’re right
NM
Marcellus Pittman – Facid Trunktion (Acid Test)
From his earlier breakthroughs for FXHE, Track Mode and Sound Signature up to his steady stream of sound on his own Unirhythm, Marcellus Pittman’s style has always been roundly defined by rugged and raw approaches. Drums that crack and tip on the edge of the beat, basslines that thump and thud with utilitarian purpose, nagging synth lines in thrall to repetitive abandon, all loosely stitched together with the ineffable funk of the Motor City.
The opening strains of the title track on his latest for Acid Test certainly strike true with what we expect of Pittman on a techno 12”, letting the beat do the heavy lifting and taking time to fold the layers into the mix. There’s an especially slippery, jazz-informed quality to the live snare and brushed hats as they jerk back behind the beat, but everything comes together once the bruised acid bass and blown out pad fill out the pockets of space. It’s a heavy-hearted beatdown with a certain emotional demeanour which calls to mind the early Carl Craig joint ‘Evolution’.
After the fog of ‘Facid Trunktion’ lifts, we’re given a much more direct proposition on ‘Sanskrit Body Rock’, which comes on in a fierce, discoid acid mode which lifts even higher when the string hooks fly in around the mid-section of the track. It’s still rough where it counts, but this is Pittman at his most focused, and it’s likely to be a popular draw for anyone wanting some fresh 303 gear to do the damage in the dance.
‘Ask It Acid’ slips back into one of those signature Unirhythm bumps, keeping the squelch low and nasty and holding down a steady, minimalist beat. It’s less immediately thrilling than ‘Sanskrit Body Rock’, but as a DJ tool that distinctive Detroit shuffle is a potent ingredient to get creative in the blend with.
OW
From the outside looking in, Daniel Rincon’s Isla label has always operated with a familial quality, releasing music from artists that seem to share a real world connection. That might be a supposition, but it’s definitely true in the case of this first release from Rincon’s collaboration with SIM, SINNAZ. The two reportedly grew the tracks on this record out of repeated jams in Rincon’s studio, having fun making music with no real intention and forging a close bond in the process. Rather than setting out to make a mutant dancehall record, it seems this is just how things turned out.
If you’re into the sound Equiknoxx popularised when they broke beyond Jamaica, or the weirdo reggaeton cooked up by Clara! y Maoupa, you’re going to love ‘Con Sentido’ and its attendant version. It takes staggered dembow beats and gives them a shot of edgy intensity, firing off freaky synth wriggles and textural washes at sharp angles around the mix. The moody, fierce pressure continues on the B side as ‘Concha Dub’ jacks up the tempo a touch, letting the drum machine flexing come through without losing that crooked swagger. ‘Taki Take’ might be the best track of all though, the low-pitch vocal adding a layer of intensity to proceedings which will go down a storm with DJs who enjoying exploring that 100 bpm space.
OW
Various Artists – Places: Tunisia (Air Texture)
Air Texture’s Places series looks to different geographical locations to offer a meaningful insight into their electronic music culture and support local environmental causes. The latest instalment finds them looking to Tunisia, a country not so widely discussed in electronic music terms. The label reached out to Azu Tiwaline and Shinigami San to help curate an expansive digital compilation, and this record cherry picks some of the finest cuts for a vinyl pressing.
Tiwaline herself stands out on the record because, not only has she become something of an unintentional ambassador for Tunisian electronic music, but she also consistently offers the most compelling music compared to anything surrounding her. ‘Ethereal Tribes’ continues that trend with a captivating, minimalist roll of percussive pressure so utterly assured in its restraint.
Elsewhere, Nuri’s strain of stripped back, hypnotic broken techno has a similarly transcendental feel, while Briki brings a more explicitly trance-minded, acid-licked strain of deep house. A pleasant surprise is the blown out dub techno stylings of DJ Mourad, something of a veteran who first released with Fred P’s Soul People Music back in 2006. It’s an added dimension to this illuminating overview of some of the incredible sounds coming from Tunisia and its diaspora.
OW
Latrec – Kutika (Viscera Transmissions)
If you like your acid techno lo-fi and Paranoid (capital P), look no further than Latrec’s ‘Kutika’. This one comes to Viscera Transmissions, a fresh label founded by Matt Cowell and Ben Carrington. This is an early-days release for an early-days label, one whose stated intent is to “explore the furthest reaches of the cosmic dance-floor”. The fine print doesn’t reveal that VT’s purpose is also effectively to crush said dancefloor under the weight of its own bass…
As is often the case with anything remotely PL-adjacent, the duo of Andy Bainbridge and Serious Hots deliver the track ‘Kutika’ in the form of quartered trivial pursuit slices, each of which have been singed to a rather tasty crisp. There’s just enough lowpass and tape saturation on the original ‘Kutika’ alone to inspire much bodily action, and this is undeniably helped along by the track’s wealth of headroom and transitional intrigues (wibbly laser-falls are always a highlight). Clearly, this EP’s appeal starts from the mix, not just the master.
But as is almost always the case, it’s the alternate versions that seal the deal. A dub mix introduces sports whistles and note-subtracted basslines, while Paranoid London’s Quinn Whalley’s remix as The WC essentially buys the track a whole new wall wart, stepping things up (nudge) to an increased ampage via a dirty electro transformer with heavy ferrite kicks to boot. Bristolian artist Remotif rounds things off with a whirler, adding out-of-body delays and spirally riffs.
JIJ
This week’s reviewers: Jude Iago James, Oli Warwick, Neil Mason.