Review: Sean Canty and Miles Whittaker make a swift return to the Testpressing series with a sixth installment arriving just a month after the excellent TP#5. The superbly titled "40 Years Under The Cosh" finds the Demdike pair wedged in the punishing crawlspace between detroit techno and vintage grime for six thrilling mind bending minutes, with the track gradually falling apart at the seams as the middle of the track draws close. Fans of both Pharrell Williams and Demdike Stare (there must be one or two) will probably express disappointment that "Frontin" isn't a cover of the big hatted fella's noughties hit; instead it's a brutal exercise in lurching industrial wave that will fry the brain cells of unsuspecting individuals.
Review: Although now better known for their respective solo work, and the latter's involvement with Sean Canty as Demdike Stare, Andy Stott (pictured above) and Miles Whittaker's Millie & Andrea project stands as one of Modern Love's more unique projects. Releasing a string of 12? singles on Modern Love sub-label Daphne from 2008-2010, the duo's music under the name experimented with various combinations of 2-step, jungle, grime, dub techno and footwork across five 12" singles. Now they return with Drop the Vowels, which makes complete sense given underground music's renewed fascination with all things revolving around the hardcore continuum. Just as wide ranging as previous material, with the LP covering the kind of tectonic mood pieces and wiry noise techno as Stott and Whittaker's recent solo material whilst delivering some of the most straight-up dancefloor material Modern Love has put out in years. Without doubt one of the albums of the year.
Vibrational Studies (In Echospace) - (6:54) 159 BPM
Review: On Vibrational Studies, Deepchord show that what you leave out is important as what stays in. An understated ambient piece of music, it benefits from not being swathed in layers of doomy Gothic references, as is the habit of so many abstract/ambient producers. Instead, Deepchord sketch out a gentle but nonetheless evocative soundscape that crackles and hisses in all the right places. That said, a more effective use of this approach is audible on "Symbolism In Transition". More of the same hissing, evolving textures are present, but this time, a gentle, dubby rhythm underpins their design - and will probably end up getting more attention.
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