Exiles EP - Cold (AE Recordings)

Title: Exiles EP

Artist: Cold

Label: AE Recordings

Cat Number: AE06

Genre: Techno

1: Aerials

2: Phased Out

3: Exiles

4: Dialogic

5: Goosebumps

This is a major event. Cold was the first artist to release on Iceland’s peerless Thule, with ‘Hyper Experience’ back in 1996; a release that contained the classic ‘Strobe Light Network’. AE is a Thule associated label and, unless I’ve been remiss, this new EP ‘Exiles’ is his first release proper since 1996. Derrick May never came in from the recording cold for obvious reasons, so has Cold, aka Isar Logi Arnarsson, still got it?

Well I suppose so, although there wasn’t that much to go on in the first place, and the five tracks here more than double what he’s already released. From what we have hear it’s the three dubbier tracks, which make the biggest impression: ‘Phased Out’, ‘Exiles’ and ‘Goosebumps’ are all great example of their kind, with the creeping menace of the title track standing out. As for ‘Aerials’ and ‘Dialogic’, I’m not as keen. They both make use of a shuffling beat, but it is far more pronounced on the latter than the former, which drives more conventionally, compared to what sounds like a souped up Ark on ‘Dialogic’. Overall though, a very good EP that is very much more worth your time and money.