Monday, March 31, 2025
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Monday, March 24, 2025
Patrick Conway - Loss/Silencio (ESP Institute)
Title: Loss/Silencio
Artist: Patrick Conway
Label: ESP Institute
Cat Number: ESP-CXIV
Genre: Broken Break Beat
A: Loss
B: Silencio
It’s been a long wait since 2020’s ‘Hypersocial/Safety Test’. The UK was still groggy from the pandemic and crawling out of lockdown. And of course loads of other stuff has happened, mostly bad. And I’m wondering as I listen to these two tracks if any of these events are being reflected in this release. Neither composition is sweetness and light, rather redolent of deterioration and a struggle for rebirth. That’s the impression I get listening to ‘Silencio’, a tune whose break beats feel uncertainly optimistic. ‘Loss’ plunges deeper, its panel-beating battery draped in discord and darkness. Obviously appropriate given its title. It’s the sound of suppression and misery. Don’t play within earshot of the suicidal.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Friday, March 21, 2025
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Monday, March 17, 2025
Sunday, March 16, 2025
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Friday, March 14, 2025
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Luxus Varta - Magnetic (Specimen Records)
Title: Magnetic
Artist: Luxus Varta
Label: Specimen Records
Cat Number: SPEC032
Genre: Electro
A1: Magnetic
A2: Broken Tube
B1: Gelatin 55
B2: Colour Splitter
On entering the world inhabited by Luxus Varta one should definitely be prepared to
eschew stability and familiarization. Being inside these tunes is akin to finding yourself trapped in a vortex of organised disorientation. The often brittle beats combining with sturdier low ends offer some room to manoeuvre. However, it’s an illusion to think you can dance your way free from the sonic scrim curtain you’re caught in. The two tracks on the A side are more abstract than the more straight up electro numbers on the B pop pickers, and they occasionally allow themselves to seep out from their confines. The title track is a good example of this; its off-kilter approach giving scope for it to vaporize into the ether without missing a beat. ‘Broken Tube’ is a piece of panel beater techno tempered by an electro foundation, while both ‘Gelatin 55’ and ‘Colour Splitter’ play out this release in a more orthodox, but no less imaginative way. Their pitched up, undulating approach incorporating a gamut of dark, metaphysical b-boy moves.
