- Tristan Arp applies his biomimicry techniques to weave intricate webs of experimental club music.
- It's hard to imagine Tristan Arp's music on a grid, because his tracks sound more like ecosystems. Even "Livable Earth," from his latest EP, at under two minutes, features a wealth of detail—stuttering drums and soft mallet sounds etching out complex and forking pathways of rhythm and melody. The vibe isn't coincidental. Lately, the Mexico City-based producer has been trying out biomimicry, e.g. making naturalistic sounds via synth. It's not as obvious as it sounds (thankfully), and on End of a Line or Part of a Circle, for Martyn's 3024 label, Tristan Arp uses swung, broken beat club music to create intricate biospheres of sound.
"Panspecies Rights," for example, feels like a needlepoint version of a Batu track, with sharp drum sounds that hit all over the grid, almost randomly. Sometimes certain sounds transform into what pseudo-vocal grunts. On the closer "The Language Change," melodies that could've come from Arthur Russell's cello poke out jaggedly from the tapestry of drums below. The title track features an expertly woven web of and percussion, with a shoulder-checking swing programmed into the kick drums, though the rest of the percussion keeps everything smooth, like a colony of ants working in tandem. The formula works best on "Branching Streams," with a loose swagger that lives up to 3024's dubstep-inspired history, and an array of mischevous sounds that feel like little murmurs and laughs. It's cutesy but undeniably weighty, in true Tristan Arp style.
Tracklist01. End of a Line or Part of a Circle?
02. Branching Streams
03. Panspecies Rights
04. A Livable Earth
05. The Language Change