[Delsin]

For my money, Conforce’s Grace EP on Delsin was the best 12″ of last year, in that if you could only buy one slab of wax, it would give you the most bang for your buck. Boris Bunnik has released a good deal since then for various labels, but there’s something about the pairing of Conforce and Delsin that seems to bring out the best in both. Fittingly, his return to the label by way of the Dystopian Elements EP is his best work since the Grace EP. Things kick off with “Luminous,” a leisurely crawl through twilight urban landscapes. Its sedate, Detroit-inspired pads meld together slowly while controlled white noise bursts and jagged, guttural square waves scrape the frequency range clean, giving maximum impact to rimshots and other percussive elements. “Desolate Ground” breaks things down into a dubbed-out groove with windblown elements rustling on the floor.

“Lonely Run” brings back the four-to-the floor-kicks with a punchy bass line, reminiscent of his recent electro work as Versalife, while “Vacuum” is the record’s sole contribution at more standard techno tempos. It shuffles along with dark bass bin rubs and driving hi-hats, building with a deft touch while leaving plenty of aural space for chords soaked in reverb to smear. The four tracks here share similar timbres but sound nothing alike, giving the record a sense of cohesion beyond simply a bunch of solid tracks. Dystopian Elements builds with a sense of purpose from front to back, increasing not only in tempo but intensity as well, and as the last bits of “Vacuum” ring out we’re left wanting more. Luckily for us, this EP functions as a teaser of sorts for a new album, so it seems this journey has only just begun.