- I was floored when I heard "New Combat Drone." from the Russian producer Tropical Interface.Here was an artist with a style of experimental club music that felt harder, more agile and more dynamic than most, and I had never heard of him before. He is part of a loose collective of producers who describe their music as "eco-grime,"—futuristic dance music concerned with an ecological utopia.
That doesn't mean nature samples. This music is more like a terrarium: artificial material surrounding an idealised representation of nature. More practically, eco-grime means a predilection for bright sounds and melodies amidst the percussive blitz, along with attractive, green-hued imagery. It cuts up grime, Jersey club, ballroom and IDM with blink-and-you'll-miss-it finesse.
Each of Orchid's seven tracks is strong, but there are a few highlights. "Extract" boasts a chaotic drum pattern that makes the quiet moments stand out like the ominous silence in a thriller film, while "Reserve" features arpeggiated leads that whirr like they're caught in a cyclone. MIDI flute rubs up against shards of vocal, distant gun cocks and other familiar sounds on "Planet Genome," which is essentially experimental club music thrown into a food processor. "Amnesia," which stretches out the percussive pyrotechnics into a seven-minute epic, proves that Tropical Interface's style isn't just about bluster and attack. Accomplishing a lot in under 30 minutes, this is a club music record that will make your head spin.
Tracklist01. Surface Research
02. Extract
03. Elements
04. Plant Genome
05. Initial Source
06. Reserve
07. Amnesia