I'm definitely not an expert in the genre, but
Demdike Stare is a big player in getting me interested in it. So here's a review for OH's 2016 exploration.
Demdike Stare -
Wonderland (2016)
is a duo that's dabbled in dark ambient, jungle, industrial techno, dub, etcletctronic. Their 2016 record
Wonderland teases out all of these influences and packages them into a really crisp and hard hitting UK bass record.
The opener,
Curzon comes right out with gloomy and hypnotic dancefloor rhythms that subtly morph and occasionally run into ambient drifts. Synthy, industrial banging beats that progress in a storylike fashion full of psychedelic moments and nods. Very meticulous and unique sound.
Animal Style opens up a little more simply, making you think that
Demdike is drawing back a little bit, but it slowly becomes more polyrhythmic as they introduce new loops. The rhythms begin to settle in before falling into a delirious ambient interlude where you realize how ****ing tired you are before it jumps back into the heavy rhythms filled in with vocal samples and small tweaks. Man this would be insane to see live.
Hardnoise is possibly the best track on the record, taking a similar layer building approach to sucking you into the hypnotic polyrhythms that dive into more abrasive territories that
Demdike is no stranger to. A big part of what I love about their approach is how surprising they can be despite heavily relying on repetition. This track goes into a super bassy direction as
Demdike transports you to the ocean and throws you in the water with the wires. They introduce what sounds like another interlude before snapping back to the hard rhythms maintaining that surprising attitude throughout the music. The track closes out on some dreamier synth leads peppered with some nice percussion. Truly a monster track imo.
Blue is one minute of dark, ominous thudding and sputtering. A break from the intensity of Hardnoise, but also a reminder of what you're in for.
FullEdge (eMpTy-40 Mix) jumps in with some more distorted synths and underwater drums twisting and turning across the track as the percussion gets increasingly tribal. It dissolves into a trippy bass loop that carries out the song as they play with textures and timing. There are some absolutely face melting moments full of contorted and delayed percussion. Banger.
Sourcer comes in with some insane polyrhythms, vocal samples, and glassy synths. Really strange and chaotic track in the best way that pulls a lot of influence from
Autechre. Definitely the most intense and busiest track on the record that goes to some cool and psychedelic places. Crazy tinges toward the end of the track, but the beginning steals the show.
Airborne Latency takes off with slower, thudding rhythm that plunges into a more twisted groove. Ultra bassy and tribal with trippy progressions into dark and bright drones. It goes into some more metallic jungle rhythms that fall in and out of the lush, sweeping synth drones that dominate the track. Definitely another highlight of the record.
Fridge Challenge opens with twisted synth noises that almost sound like they're being tape manipulated and filtered through more modulators or some s
hit like that, but it's wild. It kind of reminds me of
Aaron Dilloway's
Modern Jester with the approach that it takes to panning these similar tones that bend in an almost jarring manner. Really trippy track.
Overstaying comes in on a dancy rhythm that jumps into a surprisingly intense short loop. They know it's a dope rhythm so they let it ride only adjusting, filtering it slightly, letting a little synth drone slide in a little bit before they slip in the bass. Then it doubles down on a sick beat switch that hisses and hums over the bassy rhythms. I want to see this in a place with good speakers while I'm on a lot of drugs. I think that's some of the highest praise that an album can get.
Overall I give the record a 4.8/5. A crazy display of synth/turntable/electronic godliness. It could use a much better album cover though.
s/o to MBer Sequoioioidae for turning me onto these guys.