- The neon pulsars and screaming arpeggios that marked Swedish duo The Rice Twins' Kompakt premiere 'For Penny and Alexis' put the track on the exciting tail end of Total 7 and was one of the collection's highlights. These features and many more are crammed into the three short tracks on ‘Reach for the Flute’, a record overflowing with disorientating ideas, thankfully none involving flutes.
Ostensibly a kind of trance-y progressive tech-house, this might not adhere to any strict style, but it does fit Kompakt's kookier side. 'For Dan' opens with the minimal requisites but we're soon lost in a frantic 'Popcorn' nightmare. Familiar little blips dance gloomily beside an acid bassline filled with dread while the drums fade into spectres, yet this section is soon overwhelmed by lush, smooth pads and a new family of tones. Acid jazz Fender Rhodes keys also show up while the drums keep chugging, all of which will have befuddled dancers scratching their heads.
Kick, hats and rhythmic fizz give way to a rich grey drone and fireflies of syncopated tones in 'Rome'. The underlying hiss is shot through with blasts of reverb and the short blips spit like war-time morse code, then in steps a shimmering low end synth loop and we're reminded of SCSI-9 or Jonas Bering. But it's 'Poppers' on B2 that's the real winner, an intoxicating blend of the previous tracks' restlessness with the ketamine-fuelled shudder of Gabriel Ananda or Hug. Small clicks, tones and percussion pound just off-kilter, dropping away before a breakdown signals a whole new world of aerated synth swirl and bounce. It grows increasingly kicking with jagged yet aqueous synth patterns which are then diced until they blink like strobe lights. The only drawback is the meagre five minute duration.
If The Rice Twins were a little more patient, these tracks would soar, but as they stand there is much to admire. They could probably have squeezed out a further 12" or two from the material here if used sparingly, but that would throw them into an already crowded market. Fans of The Field and Und should certainly check this out, and 'Poppers' should appeal to many, but don't get comfortable.