Suche:high contrast

After two in as many years, low-key German producer Yør returns to similarly low key Dutch imprint Purple Maze for his third full outing on the label in the form of the 'Sublimation EP'. Across the four tracks Yør continues to explore the same frayed and decayed, abstract electronics as he has in the past, with distant kins like Kassem Mosse and Morphosis still resonating.
The opener and title track is an intense and moody, nerve jangling affair where huge searching synths pan in the background of grinding drums and dense percussive clatter before 'Gravity', with its heavyweight and churning drums, trudges on through sonic scuzz and lo-fi blizzards as a backlit melody keeps things from growing all too dark and abstract.

The many different contrasting surfaces and counterpointed moods make Yør's sounds as arresting as they are. The dystopian, tortured industrial funk of 'Parallels' with its slapping claps and decaying percussive lines are proof of that, where through chaos comes beautiful order.
Closer 'Trust' holds its head a little higher, more spiralling synths and bleepy fax machines tones add a sense that the apocalypse is coming and machines will take over, but there's enough organic beauty in the deeply hidden melodies to keep the track from being all too hostile.

Sect Records' recent compilation It's All For You showcased the exceptionally high standard of the label's roster as well as introducing some talent to the world, and this, the first 12" sampler from the album, selects three of the compilation's finest tracks for vinyl treatment. Victor Martinez takes over the A-Side with "Dav To Dub", combining heavily delayed chords filtered to breaking point, while a massive kick drum propels everything along, and a jazzy piano melody adds some subtle ambience. On the flip, D'Knox's "I'm Sorry (remix)", is a sparse number contrasting soothing chords with micro-loops which contain the spectre of disco, with a rapid rhythmic flutter and chittering melody at its core, while Fanon Flowers closes with "Invisible Life", a murky production filled with chords that ripple like sheet metal over a flurry of 909 rimshots.

Under their exael moniker, Berlin-based producer Naemi makes highly imaginative music that can be seen as a study in contrasts - precise, hyper-detailed drum programming sits atop fuzzy, organic pools of ambience, virtuosic futurism is wrung from a falling apart laptop. Following a string of excellent releases, both solo and in group settings, “Flowered Knife Shadows” features eight productions that feel like the full realization of the project, demonstrating the artist’s range and knack for vivid, pressurized productions. From the dextrous, chops-flexing “Koch Metish” to the sanguine “Reality’s Sweetheart,” Naemi’s clarity of vision and instantly recognizable aesthetic are delivered here with remarkable potency. Frost on the window, whispers in the dark.