- Peering at the dance floor from its fringes, Sagat has offered an eccentric view of the techno world. Each of his EPs has covered a broad stylistic range, and their tone is shadowy and cryptic, in line with much of the output of Belgian label Vlek. His third EP in as many years is more of a close-up view. The hallucinatory fog has lifted, and the rhythmic vocabulary is narrower, favouring a graceful UK garage flex.
Opener "Melt" pulls off the transformation most effectively. It's a simple back-and-forth, between distant, melancholic chords and a dust-choked bassline, but it's executed with understated style. "Body," on the other hand, is little more than a woodblock-y groove, prettily ornamented but lacking in drama. Rhythmically, both fall somewhere between the groovy minimalism of Berlin's late '00s garage infatuation (think Shed's The Panamax Project, T++'s Wireless) and the more lightweight shuffle of post-Burial electronica. (As does the richer "Earth," whose chords billow like dust clouds). It's an interesting enough zone, but when the pulse slows to a stoned head-nod on dub techno closer "Organs," the change of pace is welcome. Sagat, it seems, works best when showing the breadth and depth of his talents.
TracklistA1 Melt
A2 Earth
B1 Body
B2 Organs