October - Unstable Phenomenon / Entropy Ends

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  • As their titles suggest, "Unstable Phenomenon" and "Entropy Ends" feel like two sides of the same coin. Fiercely focused, stormy yet playful, both tracks are compelling evidence of how singular a musician Bristol's Julian Smith, AKA October, is becoming. Both rising New York producer Joey Anderson and the Voodoo Down label crew provide great remixes for the B-side of his latest 12-inch—the former a swampy basement track, the latter an atmospheric, slow-burning dub—but really, it's all about Smith's originals. Working mainly with analogue hardware (and moonlighting playing in punk bands), he's long been flying the flag for raw house and techno in Bristol. The broader recent shift towards these sounds in both Bristol and the UK in general has brought the music of Smith's contemporaries into closer contact with his own. But what's striking about this 12-inch—released, notably, through New York's excellently named Voodoo Down—is that it hints more towards his UK influences than anything he's released to date. The way "Unstable Phenomenon"'s metallic melodies swoop, splinter and explode into showers of colourful shards is reminiscent of Peverelist, but set to a restless four-to-the-floor drive. "Entropy Ends" is restrained by a bed of booming kicks, but traces of its counterpart's effervescent wildness—divebombing percussion, sing-song voices—blast out at the surface like steam escaping from a high-pressure container.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Unstable Phenomenon A2 Entropy Ends B1 Unstable Phenomenon (Joey Anderson Remix) B2 Entropy Ends (Voodoo Down Remix)
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