Juxtpose aka Wu Kush aka Luc Pawlus is a Melbourne resident who ended up favouring an electronic music format to bands. He is heavily influenced by Detroit techno and his clubbing experiences in Berlin. He regularly plays live techno at the Loop Bar with the Movement crew, who include Chiara Kickdrum, PWD, The Primary Colour and VJ Kit Webster as members.
The self-mastered Transferance is Juxtpose’s first release under this name, having previously released an EP titled 20:12 under the name Wu Kush in 2012. He has also released a track on Uncomfortable Beats compilation Technology Box.
First track ‘Transfer’ starts the EP off atmospherically, and definately dubstep influenced with double timed kicks, and reverberating electronic sounds, complimented by rolling 303-style moogy synth. ‘Third’ changes up pace in Transferance, by kicking through a shuffling beat punctuated with a hat hit at the end of every bar. The melody is sewn by a simple jingling and rhythmic melody intertwined with another spaying kind of melody that serves to give the track an airy quality.
‘Marshall’ seems like it’ll take Transferance into deep terrain again, with its dubby overtures, before breaking into a driving shuffle of abrasive old-school synth that is modulated through phases into background murkiness, which could disconcert some listeners.
‘Boneshaker’ is broken and loose percussive chaos brought together by a distorted piano riff, which is complex and not for listeners who expect steady 4-4 style of techno. This disparity is debatable in its efficiency. It personally delivers for me, but it might not for others. Final track ‘Venetian’ continues on its broken percussive syncopation, laced with a menacing sub-bass tone and sealed by a traditional housey synth melody. It’s a nice end to an interesting EP.
Transferance has a lot of potential in its aesthetic as a project, delivering quirky off-centre techno with dub trimmings, ala Deepchild. I think Juxtpose will continue to grow as an artist and is another Australian artist at the forefront of pioneering Australian techno into a strange new elixir.
