ARTIST(S): Blawan
TITLE: Nutrition
LABEL: Ternesc
Cat No: TESC004
FORMAT: 2 x 12″ // Digital download
RELEASE DATE: October 2nd, 2017
Blawan – a.k.a. the Berlin-based, British expatriate known as Jamie Roberts – is a techno producer who is already distinguished within an intensely demanding scene. This is largely due to his talent for confounding listeners’ expectations with glaring streaks of obscure humor and engaging strangeness.His pure craftsmanship and nuanced technique, meanwhile, have earned him affiliations with some of the longest- running and most successful releasing organizations dealing in forward-thinking electronic music: his catalog includes releases on the R&S label and a spot on the roster of the Clone label’s Basement Series. His participation in the duo Karenn has also shown his skill at using modular synthesis to output bursts of dense, feverish sound. As his overall reputation for mind-bending ingenuity expands, so do the public demands for vinyl re-presses and for new material.
These demanding voices will be rewarded with Blawan’s latest double EP “Nutrition” on his own Ternesc imprint. This will be the fourth release on the the label which was launched back in 2015 to focus on Jamie Roberts’ own solo material. Attentive ears will be immediately struck by its continuity with other highlights in the Blawan catalog, but should still be prepared for surprises. The opening “Mayhem,” for example, seems to be driven by mischievous loops of scraped and bent metal coalescing into semi-melodies on top of a surging subterranean beat. This enthusiastic ‘basement laboratory’ carries over easily into the grainy and nocturnal construction called “Trampfelpad”, whose subtle changes in timbre and grit make it feel like the sounds themselves are fermenting during the listening session. “Fawner” then takes a more aggressive turn, with primordial ‘deep sea’ sonorities, coded signals and wildly careening sequences providing an ideal soundtrack for explorers who are suddenly realizing how different the territory is from the map.
The C-side brings us “993,” a consistent four-on-the-floor beat with a gravitational pull that tries its hardest to keep a restless and disobedient bassline from flying off into space. The momentum gained on this track spills out to create a churning and floor-shaking twin brother, “Atlas,” which is every bit as muscular as its namesake might hint at. The finale “Calcium Red” solders together motifs from all of the previous tracks to make a formidable monument of pumping kick drum, chill-inducing bassline and mantric voice sample, all the while resorting to other devious tricks to crumple up the mix.
Tracklist:
A1 / 1. Mayhem
B1 / 2. Trampelpfad
B2 / 3. Fawner
C1 / 4. 993
D1 / 5. Atlas
D2 / 6. Calcium Red