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100% Silk clearly have an agenda in retro-rooted dance tracks, as exemplified by the recent bumping house EPs from Sir Stephen and Mi-Ami band member Damon Palermo aka Magic Touch. Their latest issue, while of course maintaining the aesthetic M.O., is more subversive in nature, which makes for some quite enchanting listening. That’s not to say that Innergaze are re-writing the rulebook; the signifiers are all very clear, from the post-punk/no-wave grooves of early 80s New York to the grainy electronics of krautrock, but the cumulative result is pleasingly fresh on the ears.
Lead track “Shadow Disco” sets the tone perfectly on a non-stop disco beat and looping bass lick over which all manner of vintage synthesiser stabs, FX and warbles do their cosmic thing. It’s jamming, drawn-out tackle that has no intention of going anywhere other than round and round in its own freaky circle. The vital component in tracks of this nature is the rhythm section; when it’s nailed correctly, as it is here, there’s no need for progression, diversion, peaks or troughs.
The style remains consistent across the rest of the EP, sometimes taken on a slower, sleazier tip as on the wonderfully titled “What’s Your Body Doing Tonight”, and sometimes taken more driving and psychedelic as on “Hypnogogisco”. Whatever the case, it’s always that slinky bass steering the track in a manner Sal P would be proud of. If there’s one flaw of the four tracks, it’s that the same formula gets stuck to a little too much. With such wonderful tools in the shape of their grooves and synthesised decoration, Innergaze could have conjured up yet more mind-bending and varied material. Here’s hoping that’s what the future will bring.
Oli Warwick
