Review:
Given Chris Farrell's passion for supporting local talent, it was probably only a matter of time before he teased an EP out of fellow Bristol resident Bruce. The Hessle Audio affiliate is on fine form on The Trouble With Wilderness, utilizing both sides of the 12" to touch on a variety of moods and styles. The title track sits somewhere between throbbing Bristol techno, sparse electronica and drowsy deep house, with Bruce working wonders with only a handful of key elements. On the flip, you'll find the melancholic, heart-aching ambient chords and field recordings of "Waves (For Yasmin)", and "Summer's Got To End Sometime", a melancholic chunk of melodious deepness that counts among the producer's most evocative efforts to date.
Review:
First surfacing in impressive fashion with two heavyweight records for Hessle Audio and Livity Sound offshoot Dnuos Ytivil in 2014, Bruce has been carefully considered in his output since then with just the odd remix here and there. It is Hessle Audio that signals his return, issuing the highly sought after "Steals" which has been burning a hole of expectation in the internet for the past six month. Naturally, "Steals" hogs the A-side, peppering a moody post-bruk, tribal-minded groove with distorted electronics for the pleasingly percussive opener. He explores deeper pastures on "Relevant Again", fusing fevered electronics and exotic sound effects with a dub-wise, hip-hop tempo groove. A fine EP concludes with "Petal Pluck", an ambient/IDM excursion that puts a contemporary spin on mid 1990s Aphex Twin.
Review:
Larry McCarthy aka Bruce has previously released on Livity's offshoot and Hessle Audio, so it makes sense that he would appear on Hemlock. This three-tracker starts with the melancholic, downtempo "Before You Sleep", which sounds like it could have featured on a Portishead B-side, especially as it radiates low-end menace as it progresses. McCarthy gets down to dance floor business with "In Line". Frenetic rhythms and steely drums collide with dubbed out, filtered effects to create a tripped out dance floor roller. "Sweat" is another unexpected track, with McCarthy fusing haunting sound scapes with dissected, abstract rhythms.
Review:
After a stellar debut on Livity Sound's Dnuos Ytivil sub label, man like Bruce adds Hessle Audio to his prospering profile with Not Stochastic. Representing the crucial UK label's first release of 2014, the standard of productions on show from Bruce demonstrates Hessle Audio's quality over quantity approach continues to pay dividends. The triplet also demonstrate Bruce has quite a few strings to his production bow, with the general vibe differing from the weighty swung techno of that excellent Dnuos Ytivil record. From the off, Bruce exudes a trippy style of sonics that bring to mind the work of Dynamo Dreesen or SVN.
Review:
UK producer Bruce finds himself following up Hodge's first release on Dnuos Ytivil with more quality, off the beaten track techno. The Livity Sound sub-label provides the emerging talent with his first record and "Just Getting Started" is a frenetic session of looped tribal drums, mechanical atmospheres and full-on rhythms drunk on swing, while a more subdued "Tilikum" is awkwardly syncopated to start, before building into something deep - to then dropping back into a funky Chicago bassline groove.
Review:
Ahead of the release of the Ytivil Dnuos compilation, Peverelist has opted to turn out a 12" that revisits two tracks from the recent past and sheds some fresh light on them. The label boss himself takes "Amor Fati" by Hodge to task, and turns out a delicately poised but satisfyingly weighty version replete with twinkling synth lines and jagged rhythmic incantations. Hodge meanwhile gets to have some fun with Bruce's "Tilikum", and weaves an emotional techno variation out of the component parts that stands amongst his most impassioned works to date, thanks in no small part to the heart-rending sweeps of chord that blanket the peak of the track.
Review:
As its title suggests, Remixes 1 is the first in a series where Timedance taps some of its favourite artists to rework music from its back catalogue. For this debut installment, the label has asked Stenny to pick a favourite and remix it. The Ilian Tape producer's choice is Lurka's "Beater", which is transformed with panel-beating, noisy drums and eerie, abstract textures. Occasionally, it swings back to a 4/4 groove, but this is only a temporary divergence. There is no such ambiguity on Asusu's take on Bruce's "I'm Alright Mate". There, a pulsing bass rides a hypnotic, sleek rhythm that sounds more like Donato Dozzy than Livity Sound.
