- Like Frenchman Emmanuel Top it seems as if Canadian duo Orphx are once again inspired after a hiatus from recording. The Canadian duo's break from the studio was nowhere near Top's of course. There was only a four year break between 2005's Insurgent Flows and Division—with a track coming out in 2007. (And they never stopped touring.) But things have since picked up in earnest. And fans of the nearly two decade-long project needn't worry: Christina Sealey and Richard Oddie haven't made any true alterations to their sound. Then again, maybe some renovations would have been nice. For the uninitiated, the group sits alongside names like Adam X, Giorgio Gigli or Oscar Mulero, plying a brand of music which hovers somewhere between techno, industrial and ambient.
"Apparition" highlights this intersection perfectly. It's a got a beat and pretty insistent hi-hat, but they're certainly not the focus. The track is more driven by a patchwork of faint, drab sounds—engine-like noises, a man wailing indecipherably. At the breakdown, electronic blips intermingle with more resonant versions of themselves. For lack of a better word, it's very noisy. "Vapour" loosens things up a bit. It's sparser, and contained in a rhythmically-twanging elastic bassline. A vast rush of air halfway ups the impetus, leading the way for a commendably unique sound to take the lead—perhaps soft, distorted snare drumming turned into a proper tone. "Density" is probably the darkest of three dark tracks, full of sinister echoes and psychedelic squelches. It's also the most surprising; another rush of air at the mid-point morphs it from a semi-ambient piece into a stomping, kick-driven piece suitable for only the dankest of basements.
Tracklist 01. Apparition
02. Vapour
03. Density Current