Steven Porter - Superbad

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  • Katsunori Sawa and Yuji Kondo keep things exceedingly dark on Superbad, their first full release as Steven Porter since 2011. The four-track EP for SNTS's eponymous label doesn't stray far from the solo records these two Japanese artists have made in recent years, which is fine—few in techno can match their refined intensity. There's a heavy, elemental vibe to these four tracks, thanks largely to the duo's muscular broken beats. But what makes Sawa and Kondo unique is the way they suffuse their music with layers of nerve-wracking ambient textures, as sharp as they are subtle. It's a specialist's sound, one that's likely to wear down less adventurous listeners. "Dwell In Hell" kicks off the commotion with hollow drones and a wailing, indecipherable voice. Faster and leaner, "Foresight To Ignite" seems to sneak away after a couple minutes, only to return with its industrial machinery grinding more intensely. Superbad's B-side adds strangled, feedback-drenched guitars to the mix. A discordant whole-note progression adds a semblance of melody, however unhinged it may be, to the stormy peaks of "Ignorance Reigns," while "Wild Pitch" is a full-on noise assault that briefly abates for some cut-up spoken word. The track ends a particularly exhausting techno record in face-melting fashion.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Dwell In Hell A2 Foresight To Ignite B1 Ignorance Reigns B2 Wild Pitch
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