New York's Marcos Cabral has long dabbled on both sides of the house/techno divide, and he remains a committed eclecticist, having lately explored Chicago-leaning house (on the Land Of Tar EP) and beatless synth noodlings ("Sweet & Sour"). But his finest work in recent years has, broadly speaking, been techno. 2011's 24 Hour Flight appeared through the label of Cabral's then-roommate Ron Morelli, its gorgeous, dub-strafed productions making it one of the best of L.I.E.S.' early crop.
Come 2013—and having released a thrilling LP, False Memories, in the meantime—Cabral returns to L.I.E.S. for a far knottier kind of techno record. "Capri Social" is of a piece with "Dancing On Manhattan," the producer's contribution to the recent L.I.E.S. comp Music For Shut-Ins, in its use of fidgety, bell-like melodic figures. There's a weird dual-intensity to it—the ragged propulsion of the drums on the one hand, the gentle lapping of those melodies on the other—that is more puzzling than it is compelling. The hollow percussion and baleful drones of "Haitian Priest," taken alongside its title, seem to nod to the industrial exotica currently being championed by Cut Hands et al, though Cabral's take on the form isn't exactly dazzling. "Goetz" is the most satisfying thing here. It's still pretty thin sounding—the whole thing rasps and crackles as if it's been ripped from a rice paper-thick 12-inch—but, in the right hands, you can imagine its relentless horror-show organ stabs being used to apocalyptic effect.
Come 2013—and having released a thrilling LP, False Memories, in the meantime—Cabral returns to L.I.E.S. for a far knottier kind of techno record. "Capri Social" is of a piece with "Dancing On Manhattan," the producer's contribution to the recent L.I.E.S. comp Music For Shut-Ins, in its use of fidgety, bell-like melodic figures. There's a weird dual-intensity to it—the ragged propulsion of the drums on the one hand, the gentle lapping of those melodies on the other—that is more puzzling than it is compelling. The hollow percussion and baleful drones of "Haitian Priest," taken alongside its title, seem to nod to the industrial exotica currently being championed by Cut Hands et al, though Cabral's take on the form isn't exactly dazzling. "Goetz" is the most satisfying thing here. It's still pretty thin sounding—the whole thing rasps and crackles as if it's been ripped from a rice paper-thick 12-inch—but, in the right hands, you can imagine its relentless horror-show organ stabs being used to apocalyptic effect.
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Published /
Mon / 20 Jan 2014 -
Words /
Angus Finlayson -
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Tracklist /
A Capri Social
B1 Haitian Priest
B2 Goetz
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