[Rhythmic Theory]

Bristol’s anonymous techno guy drops another two self-released dirt tracks here, of good quality and familiar stock, pairing the kind of granulated drum machine noise that has been finding currency lately on Hessle Audio, Mister Saturday Night, and L.I.E.S., with a resolutely stripped-back techno mentality. After a release earlier in the year for Idle Hands, it will be interesting to see if other labels, like those above, pick up on Rhythmic Theory’s gnarled techno fisticuffs, or whether the producer’s left to continue ploughing his own furrow. The latter outcome might in fact make for more interesting results if the producer continues adapting and exploring this small, cramped sonic realm the way they have been.

Rhythmic Theory, excerpts from Siren Song

“Siren Song” brings the grind with big, gritty bangs and flickering, distorted percussion rolls à la Kowton. As synthesized prisms of light jet into the dark, throbbing rumble, it turns out that Peverelist and Asusu, the aforementioned producer’s Livity Sound collaborators, are an equally near point of reference. It makes for an unpredictably delicate, astral bit of gear to sweat yourself out to. “Genesis” slams in with a more front-on approach, those drilling, fuzzy snares striking jaggedly at a rhythm that’s otherwise rather grid-stuck, the steady kick dropped in from the first, skewered with keen hi-hats. This one’s a real piece of peak-time, hunched-over heaviness, bouncing like an electro-magnetized wrecking ball, with low guttural tones dragging out the rhythm for maximum damage.