Slowly, a new movement of house and techno mutations is building. All that this generation learned from dubstep has been distilled to it's basic elements and then refined to make bastardised interpretations of house and techno.
- Asusu on Livity Sound
It really struck me straight up. This statement, which I read a long time after hearing the music on Livity Sound, describes exactly my feelings about the label. From the off there was this stark, draughtsman-like quality to the tracks which laid the music bare. The elements present themselves in minute detail, they are defined, dimensioned and meticulous and the beauty of their complexity lies in their innate simplicity. The label's basic philosophy seems to be rooted in their ability to be just that; basic. To break apart the elements of electronic music and rearrange them in a way which showcases them as a collection of individual sounds.
The label's first release hits this point exactly. Kowton and Pev take on the same track, not as one mix and a reinterpretation, but as two takes on the same basic structure, like two different models constructed from the same parts. Somehow this gives a whole new feel to the release, not bound by the confines of one dominant artist, the tracks seem to reflect two separate ideas whilst remaining true to a single form. The elements of the track are the focal points, sounds moving in and out of audio-space but never getting lost in the overall sound. Kowton's take on the A moves stealthy and metallic, mechanically driven and bleakly technoid, you get the feeling of some complex machine at work. Pev's take on the B jitters and pumps, sounding something equally physical but more organism than machine. The tracks are unmistakably the same beast, and yet unmistakably different forms. You can hear all those tweaks and shifts in the sounds which have been crafted and worked to give the overall form; each individual hit honed and moved through the L-R space, giving these tracks some weighty ambiance.
You can hear this right through the second and third releases. Asusu's 'Too much time has passed' in particular, is a minimalist dubstep echo chamber; it harks to something like those first couple of tracks Martyn released on Apple Pips, but pitched way down to give the sounds time to breathe and be heard. 'Salt Water' is a skewed dancfloor tune, skitting frantically between laid-back ambiance and speedfreak rhythm but staying fully in control all the time. There's confidence here, enough to let the music speak, and speak clear and raw, it shows that you don't need to rely on layering tracks to the point where they jump out to you; tunes can be innately danceable and also very basic, even stark.
What Asusu says about learning from a generation of Dubstep is showcased here over just three 12s; something important. This label, along with the now relatively well established Workshop, are showing what you can do with a lot of honing and relatively few but well-chosen sounds. This is not about some new sound or scene, it's a fresh way of looking at what electronic music has to offer, and producing the purest mixes possible.
Livity Sound showcase mix
No comments:
Post a Comment