- Startup Label 1 is the debut vinyl release on Bepotel Records, and the first solo release from Bepotel themselves since 2013's Kikkerkelik for Vlek. That EP leaned towards conventional house and techno gestures, albeit conventional by the standards of the oddball Belgian scene the trio inhabits. By contrast, Startup Label 1 presents a subtler and considerably stranger sound. On "Tranquille Gitflo," synth pads pool like light, cool and weightless, while fragments of voice dance through at irregular intervals. The whole thing never really goes anywhere, without ever quite staying still.
The rest of the EP is similar, complex and fluid in a way which suggests we've stumbled on some rich, hidden ecosystem. "MSG" is sparser, its single synth line teetering unsteadily over weighty percussion. "+Quarry S" pushes the trio's sound towards the druggiest corners of the Berghain dancefloor. Like everything on this EP, the transformation is carried out with the subtlest of tweaks—a foggy drone here, a wash of hi-hats there—but that doesn't make it any less compelling.
TracklistA1 Tranquille/Gitflo
A2 MSG
B1 +Quarry/S