Erofeev - Abdumanob

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  • When Nikita Zabelin shouts about an artist, it's worth listening. Through his Resonance radio show, the Moscow DJ brings new Russian talent to wider techno attention. Nina Kraviz credits him with showing her the трип artists Vladimir Dubyshkin and Roma Zuckerman, and his young Resonance label released one of the strangest and best records from this scene, Unbroken Dub's Forty Six Knobs Machine. Zabelin's latest signing, like Unbroken Dub, is an established artist known for something a little different. Ivan Erofeev, a Siberian living in Moscow, has spent most of the '10s plotting a course from bubbly electronica into kitsch lo-fi house under the name Aleph. Now working under his own name, Erofeev has found a simple but distinctive slant on the through-the-techno-looking-glass aesthetic shared by his peers. If these tracks were a minute or two longer, and a little more sculpted, they would be excellent late night prang-outs. "Tribe," in particular, begs expansion—its subzero bleep melody steals past in a tantalising three-and-a-half minutes. The wonky twilit vibe is expanded on "Abdumanob," which features a choir of sampled voices hissing and then shouting rhythmic phonemes. "Bed Of Honour" lacks such a striking hook, and tries to compensate with tired-sounding synths. The EP's second half tips from grubby into properly lo-fi. "Resin" is the best of these redlining rompers, thanks to its more developed structure, where a spidery piano riff gives way to spacier sections punctuated by sour chord stabs. "Caucasus" is also solid, a slyly funky assemblage of synth smears and deft hi-hats. On "Aerograd," Erofeev once again loses his way. After all, he's still getting oriented in the techno world.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Abdumanob A2 Bed Of Honour A3 Tribe B1 Resin B2 Caucasus B3 Aerograd
RA