Shifted At Juno Download

Review: Having already turned all the right heads with its sold out, previously vinyl only releases, Avian, the imprint run by shadowy techno upstart Shifted makes its debut in the digital domain. The label's debut release, from Shifted himself, is an exercise in powerful yet restrained arrangements, with the opening track combining firm kicks with delicate brushstrokes of percussive texture and bell-like drones. The second untitled track meanwhile changes direction totally with a beautifully rendered slice of dark, ambient noise, while the EP closes with a killer track that combines a Dettmann-like simplicity with Shifted's typically nuanced sound design.

Review: Shifted's identity remains a mystery, but crucially, he does not come from the small coterie that has dominated UK techno over the past twenty years. Like the signature image he uses, a grey, shadowy creature creeping through a snowy forest, his infiltration of the sound has been stealthy and understated. In many ways, his lack of connection with techno, his automatic outsider status, has allowed him to effect an entrance into a hitherto new terrain. Like his releases on Mote Evolver and his own Avian imprint, Crossed Paths tingles and fizzes with an atmospheric sensibility that monochrome techno often lacks. All of this is made possible by his distinctive sound design; intricate and subtle, yet at the same time both functional and multi-faceted, where all of these divergent paths cross, you'll find Shifted.

Review: Expert attention to detail across all visual and sonic elements is present and correct once again on this sick release from the Avian nest with label co-founder Shifted at the helm. Originally spread across two 12"s for the physical release, The Cold Light is presented in its entirety across this digital EP. "Cold Light Sektor A" is all about the contrast between elements as the near incandescent lightness of those dubby chords battles with the growing weight of Shifted's sludgy rhythmic arrangements, while "Sektor B" opts to burrow down a plinking locked groove making it a perfect DJ tool. The swarm like "Sektor C" meanwhile is a repetitious and mind numbing groove of techno, deviating only slightly in variance throughout the track's entirety; "Sector D" turns up the freeze in a production which can be likened to a subdued Mike Parker - whom Shifted remixed recently - as cold Sandwell-style bleeps flutter and hum under Shifted's now trademark four to the floor style.