- When Border Community pared back its roster last year, Nathan Fake and Wesley Matsell both made the cut. It's easy to see why—as with Luke Abbott and label boss James Holden, each approaches techno from his own singular angle, while sharing an ear for melody and a taste for the cosmic. It seems Border Community's couldn't quite contain these two, however. The debut release on the pair's new Cambria Instruments label finds both on extremely fine form, turning familiar tools to refreshing new ends.
The A-side is Fake's first transmission since 2012's Steam Days. "Black Drift" ditches the strong melodic focus of that album in favour of rhythmic torque. It's swung almost (but not quite) to the point of dysfunction, its snares and claps flying every which way. The outcome is infectious but rather lightweight—it's over just as you think it's digging in for the long haul. Never fear: Fake pads things out with an epically tearful beatless coda.
On the B-side, the lesser-known Matsell offers something more substantial. "Bismuth" is a marked improvement on this year's attractive but rather clean-cut Total Order Of Being EP. The groove is loose and mossy, the customary kosmische arps have a retrofuturistic tang to them and the whole thing is riddled with weird FX—jarring claps, rills of delay, erratic puffs of white-noise smoke. Of course, Matsell doesn't let these obstacles stop him from reaching towering emotional heights. Euphoria in adversity feels all the better earned.
TracklistA1 Nathan Fake - Black Drift
B1 Wesley Matsell - Bismuth