Tuesday, September 29, 2009  11:14 am 

2-step hieroglyphics

Lets take a crawl through haunted circuitry hallways  that run labyrinthine-like, beneath those giant blocks of cement and glass, where light emitting diodes weakly flicker on and off in a disquieting fashion to the faint murmured rhythms of a clipped and fragile humanoid voice fragmented into some alien form of 2-step code. We can find a place to sit and listen as the mysterious robotic hieroglyphics, we’ll come to learn are made by two wire whisperers brought together under the name Darkstar, lull us into a softdub trance and we’ll slowly feel the reanimation of something occuring as their future funk incantation brings into life the fidget clicks and synth plinks that once ruled and spooked those grey streets of London, now reborn as something more meditative and melancholy as they emerge out of stasis.

The incantation in question is forthcoming on Hyperdub which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering how they’ve been responsible for some most hypnotic phantom digi-diva bass hymnals in the past, and who, prepped to celebrate their 5 year birthday very soon, are probably one of this decades most important and continually impressive British labels out there.

Darkstar – Aidy’s Girlfriend is a Computer

(The label requested we only stream this one, but if you like it, you know what to do. Go get it when it materialises in physical form alongside a very nice Detroit synth workout remix of the same song courtesy of Kyle Hall)

Moving on from the beatuifully still and zen, and entering into some truly terrifying territory we present to you Magic Daddy and his ode to the joys of having your mouth pulled apart and poked with sharp objects, another wonderfully creeped out horror disco number constructed from machines that literally ooze dread. With a screwed melodic sensibility similar to that of Chicago macabre masters Gatekeeper and even a touch of the kind of synthetic doom reverberations Salem have come to specialise in, NHS Dentist practically throws you into the sterile plastic chair next to the spitoon they’ll find your toothless head in. Nasty, nasty business and not for the weak of heart.

Magic Daddy – NHS Dentist

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Last night in NYC amidst a lightstorm of green lazerbeams Fever Ray peered from behind the fog to play an electrifying set of shamanic dirge-pop whiched blackened souls in the brightest possible way, and I’m more than a little bit excited to tell you all that tonight, once they’ve finished performing for probably the last time in a long time in this town, there will be a Fever Ray DJ set happening at Society, a night of talking tongues techno and astral space rave presented by XXJFG in association with True Panther. Psyched is not the word for it! If that wasn’t enough Blondes will be playing a n undoubtedly transcendental performance and bass hero DJ Kingdom will be dropping glitterbombs of crunk-cave on all and sundry. The dance commences from 9 at Arrow Bar in Manhattan. Break bones?

labels >> Darkstar, Fever Ray, Hyperdub, Magic Daddy

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