Drenba Nih Sendaut vinyl

In a year where Downwards are celebrating their 20th anniversary, the label seems more willing than ever to push the boundaries of expectation. So far in 2012, Samuel Kerridge's startling four track suite of industrial techno has been complemented by Nightshade, the debut album from DVA Damas and a contender for end of year lists. Lycan obsessives OAKE join them with their debut missive Offenbarung, a three track 12" that sits close to Kerridge's work in the scale of things though the Berlin duo has their own unmistakable sound. From the off, OAKE are all about building and executing a sense of tension; the first two tracks seem them slither in the direction of your senses, not necessarily driven forward but creeping none the less. Scraping textures act as the rhythmic base and low groaning vocals meld with dissonant, rumbling tones. Final track "Nihnin Ned Bargund" is the closest thing to techno, commencing in dramatic fashion with a gong like singular kick drum sucking you in before a rising crescendo of reverberant metallic textures and psychosis inducing strings pull you into a nightmarish dimension.