Nima Khak ‘Peppercorn b/w Grind It Out’

Nima Khak / ‘Peppercorn b/w Grind It Out’

Vinyl / MP3

H Productions / Released October 25th 2010

You often have to wonder what kind of substances flow through the mind of the average producer as they try to name a repetitive series of loops. In stark contrast, some tracks are so appropriately titled it’s as though it came before the music. The latest from Stockholm’s resident Iranian unquestionably falls into the latter.

As throbbing a slice of Swedish threat as we’ve heard in some time, there’s no doubt that the riddims dominating this disc are distinctly grinding, and come with a poweful kick. Peppercorn offers something on a M_nus tip, though favours the minimal style of yesteryear as oppose to today’s smoother interpretations. Kicking off with an industrial blend of cymbals and staccato kicks, percussion and white noise crescendos are gradually added before distorted vocal loops play the part of a twisted harmony. All the while a beacon-like hook wanders between left and right channels, preventing boredom setting in.

Flip it over and mechanical hooks carry a melody free tune, defined by whispered vocal stabs fading behind background atmospherics, in Grind It Out. The kind of dancefloor-only effort that comes complete with its own sense of impending fate and gradually building menace, any limbs in earshot should rightly feel propelled by the sense of dread and drive. Neither tune differs much from the techno template that has defined Scandinavia’s leading nocturnal nation for decades. But at the end of the day, who would really want it to?


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