- Despite the confusing credit of "Jamal Moss presents Kuba Sojka," Sojka isn't an alias of the Chicago producer and Mathematics head, but rather an artist from Myslowice, Poland, who also records as Psi-Acoustic. Sojka speaks in his bio about wanting to "highlight the specific character of... the Detroit techno and house style," and he's certainly done that here. Across four uptempo tracks, he delves elbow deep into meaty analog jams clearly inspired by Underground Resistance, with an almost florid disco overtone.
His music is cleaner and more "produced" than Moss'—not so gritty or unstable. But it certainly hews to Mathematics' aesthetic, even if it's also not as out-there as many of the label's releases. "Desert Expedition," its LFOs fluttering ever so slightly out of time, starts off almost like it's riffing on 2-step garage, thanks to the staggered handclap/hi-hat patterns. But no 2-step ever sounded as dewy as Sojka's lush beds of analog synthesizers, or boasted such a jazzy lead, with a twinge of Morricone in its pitch bends. "Life Choice" is a controlled burst of energy in the vein of Aztec Mystic or Octave One, with filtered synth and organ chords muscling forward over a head-over-heels drum jack, and ostinato strings taking a graceful little curtsy ever four bars.
It's intense, breathtaking stuff, and so is "Fullness for Life," an upward spiral of multiple drum machines, strings and pads that isn't afraid to pull an Icarus in its pursuit of "Strings of Life." The title track is the most relaxed, with gorgeous, chiming synthesizer chords and counterpoints framed by clean, straight-ahead drum programming. Detroit Escalator Co. comes to mind, especially in the track's glassy arpeggios. With house tempos having slowed considerably over recent years, Sojka's full-on, idea-stuffed EP is proof that it needn't be slow to be deep.
Tracklist A1 Desert Expedition
A2 Life Choice
B1 Fullness for Life
B2 Bright Shadow of a Star