So this is what Szilvia was talking about :(
regis: in a syrian tongue ep (blackest ever black)
along the side of a couple of other producers, karl o’connor seems to have the techno comeback of the year. as part of the (not so) mysterious sandwell district collective, still running the quality downwards label and a bunch of 12”s and remixes under his belt, he seems to be releasing more tracks under his various pseudonyms lately than the decade before. in line with this, mid of november saw the release of what could arguably be called a mid-career retrospective, in the form of “adolescence: the complete recordings 1994-2001”.
a couple of weeks before that compilation, he released this ep on the fresh blackest ever black. o’connor is no stranger to the label, having already produced a remix for their second ep, but it still feels like an interesting move. his version of raime’s “this foundry” was tripping into dark atmospheres, quite different to the hard hitting techno tracks he made in the 90ies and early 00ies. with its slow pace and industrial longing, it was more drifting than raving here.
on “syrian tongues” he returns with a set that has a bit of both. it opens with “blood witness”, a mid tempo track, with stomping beats, lots of repetition and little rays of light shining through the concrete. the groove is focused, dense and has an urge to move forward. next is a live take of the same track, together with mick harris, ex drummer of napalm death, and the name behind scorn. the difference to the live version is audible but not overwhelming, with broken beats and more of an underwater feeling going on. closer “blinding horses” sounds like a techno track lost in its own world and is the most interesting piece here. regis is working a stubborn beat against ice cold sounds swashing all over the place and strange voices from beyond. there is a haunting quality here that sets it apart from so many other techno tracks around.
in a syrian tongue is music for big empty spaces, but has enough to offer to make it work in a more private setting as well. listening to more of his music lately, it seems that regis and his people have come full circle in a way, reflecting a whole tradition of strange electronic sounds from the uk, and succesfully reappropriating them for a vision of their own.
Yeah!
Digital versions now available exclusively at boomkat.com
Click photo above for more information……
The next time Karl & Dave call me mad, I’ll refer them back to this article :P
Sandwell District
The Wire
Issue #334
December 2011
Can’t wait until this arrives :)
“Available in limited numbers from december 9th”
Click Photo above for full review from “THE QUIETUS”
