Untold At Juno Download

Review: The lesser spotted Hemlock offshoot known simply as SSSSS drops its third and purportedly final emission with little to no warning. The conceptual slant sees a return to the debut SSSSS drop, with an Untold classic getting the relick treatment, this time being the Shackleton-like 2008 thrill of "Bones". This means the remix from Hessle's Joe FINALLY gets the release it deserves (no more listening to Youtube rips!) and it is joined by a typically precise and skeletally poised effort from D&B badman Rockwell.

Review: Collecting the three parts of Untold's Change In A Dynamic Environment trilogy, this digital only edition is essential for those yet to hear one of the most impressive reinventions of the year. Swapping his usual restless drums and vacuum-like bass throb for a more patient brand of techno, these tracks still pack the punch you'd expect from Jack Dunning. Both "Motion The Dance" and Luminous" channel Metalheadz era drum & bass into a 4/4 package, as buzzing drones invert the typical bass formula, while "Caslon" and "Breathe" explore deeper Detroit styles and Vangelis inspired sounds. It's "Kane" and "Overdrive" however that offer the biggest surprise, taking inspiration from post-punk and industrial music to create two seriously rough techno tracks.

Review: In a recent interview, Jack Dunning suggested he was "just another dubstep producer washing up on techno's beach in 2012". In many ways this is unfair to his unique production style, which arguably has always had more in common with techno than many of his contemporaries - developing on a course outside of either genre over the past four years, culminating in the release of Little Things Like That on Clone's Basement Series last November. On listening to Change In A Dynamic Environment EP 1, it's clear that Little Things Like That was something of a transitional record, though perhaps not quite in the way that many expected. While both its tracks hammered forward with all the power of a horse bolting from the Fachwerk stable, the vacuum-like bass throb which is Dunning's most distinct sonic trademark was always pulling in the opposite direction, largely justifying the tag of bass over techno, and it's in this manner that many expected him to continue, applying his tried and trusted sounds to more regular drum patterns. This approach on both tracks flips Dunning's usual formula on its head, largely removing the heavily bottom-ended element of his sound, resulting in something that isn't rude club tackle but altogether more contemplative. Whether this is end of the Untold we knew him will no doubt be revealed with EPs 2 and 3.

Review: Jack Dunning's audacious three part project reaches number 2, and while the first instalment may have been inspired by drum & bass (in spirit if not necessarily in sound), it seems as though this pair of tracks are more concerned with the aesthetic of early Detroit techno. The near industrial thud of "Caslon" utilises a simple monophonic sequence that slowly builds into a storm of raw square waves. "Breathe" meanwhile opts for a deeper approach which is one of the producer's most sedate works to date, utilising a swung rhythm that is as far from his traditional jackhammer approach as you could imagine, with a gentle bass accented with a Vangelis-like sci-fi soundscape. Highly recommended.

Review: Drum & bass, Detroit techno, and now...post-punk? It seems unlikely that anyone would have expected Untold to conclude his trilogy of EPs with two tracks that could have emerged out of the dancepunk boom of ten years ago, but if anything they just prove that the DNA of early 80s British guitar music runs deep enough to show its dominant traits once every few generations. Of course it's not a total departure - although "Kane" is characterised by its Gang of Four style bassline, aesthetically it's a fitting companion to the first EP's "Motion The Dance": dark, throbbing, and filled with malicious intent, it's offered an air of grandiose spectacle with its symphonic violin, peaking at its mid-point when an event horizon of waspish drones open up beneath the bassline and pulls everything in. "Overdrive" meanwhile takes a more explicitly industrial tack, as heavily distorted bass guitar licks are thrown into a cascading jumble of crunchy, organic beats.

Review: After the devastating techno excursion of his last outing on Hemlock, Untold slides up to Brainmath with this stand-alone cut of mutant rhythmic madness, once again demonstrating his power in subverting all around him. It's the kind of pared down broken beat that defined the initial upsurge of Hessle Audio output, as woody percussion and nutty sub bass plonk around with a spread of sonic decoration. The care taken in deploying these elements is plain to hear, as the fine detail blends into what comes on like a primal DJ tool for the next century.

Review: Hemlock boss Untold surfaces on the evergreen Clone imprint with this absolutely blinding EP for their Basement Series. Much like Trago and Bok Bok collaborating, the sight of one of the UK's premier producers on one of our favourite Dutch label makes for exciting times. "Little Things Like That" is resolutely booming techno music, effortlessly stepping up the gears of dancefloor menace towards a subway sized juggernaut of rasping, finely sculpted pressure. Up next, "Bachelors Delight" merges the bassier excesses of Untold's background with a 4/4 flex, dipping the expertly syncopated drums in a sub bass swamp lifted from the harsher end of 2step. This is music that was made for the Basement Series and naturally gets a BIG TIP from us!

Review: It comes as no surprise that Jack Dunning, aka Untold, has a sonic palette that predates dubstep. This becomes patently obvious on the title track for his R&S debut, where a ravey, wobbly bass is the arrangement's centrepiece. It's reminiscent of both the excesses of old school rave and the menacing strut of UK breaks, but without the wide-eyed sense of wonder that the former possessed or the macho posturing of the latter. Despite this, "Freeze" is a fascinating, challenging listen, interspersed with machine-gun percussive sprays and evil acid licks. Dunning tells a relatively similar story on "Mass Dreams Of The Future", but the manner in which he goes about it is completely different. For starters, while "Freeze" lurched, "Mass Dreams" is based on a more conventional techno structure. The other main difference is that it's more musical, featuring evocative chords. However, it's also underpinned by a panning groove that makes nods to classic Plastikman as well as contemporary Ruskin productions and the end product delivers the same result: an individualistic take on electronic music with an assault on the synapses as the punch line.

Review: It's hard to keep up with Hemlock Recording's expansive Chapter One compilation/mix project, but this fourth single, released as an addendum to the main package, is not to be missed. The EP features two remixes of label boss Jack Dunning aka Untold; first up Kowton twists "Stop What You're Doing" into a grime-smeared burner that plunders similarly bleak sonic terrain to Kahn's recent single on Deep Medi, while Canadian producer Nautiluss adopts shuffling rhythms and swirling synths that sound like Floating Points jamming with Boo Williams on his version of "Breathe".