- Shifted's new alias returns with an EP of wonderfully liminal, intricately textured techno.
- Coming into your own as an artist is typically a gauntlet of trials and errors. For Guy Brewer, most of those trials have resulted in success. Previously one half of legendary drum & bass duo Commix and one whole of the dark, brooding techno project Shifted, his new pseudonym Carrier aims to "step away from purism" in order to explore the exciting thresholds that lay between genres. Neither Curve Nor Edge, his new EP that also launches a self-titled label, does exactly that. These are creeping, hazy productions with all the frills of IDM undergirded by the unshakability of techno.
The granular synthesis that was the backbone for 2021's excellent Shifted LP Constant Blue Light returns, adding a prickly, ASMR-ish tingle to the proceedings. On the A-side, Brewer flaunts his knack for processing electronic percussive sounds until they begin to feel organic. The drums on "Shading" shudder like a boiling kettle, while a rattlesnake's tail comes to mind on "Into The Habit." Both vault forward with a slow, foreboding step as heavy kicks steeped in reverb conjure glacial soundscapes.
Compared to the earth-crumbling step of the A-side, the flip takes a more freeform approach. It's lighter, airier and more inquisitive with its movements. Intricately textured EP highlight "The Motions" is volatile to the point that it demands alternating attention between its layers. Bouncy kickdrums thud like basketballs on maplewood, while serene, goosebump-inducing pads underpin a spaghetti junction of intercepting mechanical chirps. "Still So," with its metallic edge, clangs and chisels away at itself over icy pads. "Neither Edge Nor Curve" is craggy, enchanting dance music that both soothes and stirs. For his second release under the Carrier moniker, Brewer finds himself outside of his comfort zone, exploring strange sonic locales not defined by curves or edges.
Tracklist01. Into The Habit
02. Shading
03. Still So
04. The Motions