- Simon Aussel is finding his voice. After donning the alias Simo Cell, his debut release, the Cellar Door / Piste Jaune 12-inch for Livity Sound's "reverse" label, found the young Frenchman working confidently with a familiar strain of stark, sleek UK techno. The I.M.O. EP followed a few months later, tapping into a slightly brighter sound full of synthy atmosphere. Gliding is Aussel's first solo record since and his first for Livity Sound proper. These four tracks feel like the culmination of the work on his first two records, and yet they sound little like what he's done before. From the drums' distorted veneer on "Gliding" and "Obi 1," to the tiny rhythmic intricacies throughout "Away From Keyboard," to the weightless sway of "As Long As We Have Those Things," this is Aussel's most inventive record yet.
What's most striking about Gliding, however, is the range Aussel finds within the sound he's developing. With its taut, percussive energy, Objekt-esque soundscapes and depth-charge bass drops, "Away From Keyboard" is the clear banger of the bunch, but that doesn't mean it overshadows the abstract ebb and flow in "As Long As We Have Those Things." The halftime swagger and trippy, textural FX that move "Obi 1" seem inspired as much by techno as recent tangents of experimental drum & bass, while "Gliding" works out some jazzy drum patterns with a crunchy sound palette that would've fit nicely on Kowton's Utitlity. If the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, at least Aussel is smart enough to carve it into his own shape.
TracklistA1 Gliding
A2 Obi 1
B1 Away From Keyboard
B2 As Long As We Have Those Things