Infrastructure co-head Dave Sumner (AKA Function) pitched Campbell Irvine as an "outsider" artist months before Irvine's debut release. The phrase perhaps does Removal Of The Six Armed Goddess a disservice. This isn't a charmingly naive work from an uninitiated producer, but a refreshingly tactile slab of densely layered techno. The three tracks emphasise texture and atmosphere, but there's drive and menace here in spades.
"Thread Laid Bare On The Ground" establishes Irvine's aesthetic in seconds. Grabs of disembodied voice and vaguely Middle-Eastern drums lope in and out of the foreground, while decaying drones and grains of static form a toxic mood. "Control Through Prohibition Or Supply" courts the Arabic association more directly, though Irvine seems to operate without the conspicuously political bent of a Muslimgauze or Vatican Shadow. The title track is the standout. A battery of muddy-yet-detailed colours loom over a taut-skinned hand drum whose syncopation makes for an understated yet tonally gorgeous groove. While the EP may be a little circuitous for the average techno DJ, those with an ear for detail will find much to like.
"Thread Laid Bare On The Ground" establishes Irvine's aesthetic in seconds. Grabs of disembodied voice and vaguely Middle-Eastern drums lope in and out of the foreground, while decaying drones and grains of static form a toxic mood. "Control Through Prohibition Or Supply" courts the Arabic association more directly, though Irvine seems to operate without the conspicuously political bent of a Muslimgauze or Vatican Shadow. The title track is the standout. A battery of muddy-yet-detailed colours loom over a taut-skinned hand drum whose syncopation makes for an understated yet tonally gorgeous groove. While the EP may be a little circuitous for the average techno DJ, those with an ear for detail will find much to like.
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Published /
Fri / 25 Jul 2014 -
Words /
Mark Smith -
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Tracklist /
A1 Thread Laid Bare On The Ground
B1 Control Through Prohibition Or Supply
B2 Removal Of The Six Armed Goddess
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