Various Artists / ‘The Achromorphe’
Vinyl
Aconito Records / Released April 11th 2011
Four artists come together for this limited edition release. And, as anyone who’s had a listen already will know, this one’s going straight into the pile marked P, for pure terror. Futurism abound, if this is where civilisation is heading then count us out.
Well, we’re kind of in actually, so far as atmospheric dancefloor moments of distant horns, pulsating basslines and toxic effects go. It just doesn’t really sound like a place you’d like to live, or indeed somewhere with the ability to sustain human life. The result is a reaction that only dance music can create- shock, awe, disgust, and finally acceptance.
Scariest of all must be A Jarvik A.X 7.1, which also lays claim to strangest title (perhaps ever?). nAX_Acid and Ink power up hoovers to search some far off landscape, while a brooding air, and Sandwell District style low end emerge. Next thing the techno kicks have dropped, and we move from conceptual knob-fiddling into a tune to empower the feet, and demand movement- just make sure to keep your eyes shut tight.
And it’s from here that Obtane and Claudio PRC’s Antikythera Mechanism takes over. Acid tweaks meet industrial hi-hats and rolling drums, leaving listeners powerless, lost in a familiarly hypnotic spell cast by repetitive rhythm. It’s a stark contrast to the bleak, beat-free, windswept picture painted in the title track (also from nAX), which can only be described as a kind of post-apocalyptic Blade Runner-inspired outing. Altogether it makes for an intelligent package that’s also wholly usable.
