UK-based electronic producer Wen (real name Owen Darby) delivered one of last year’s biggest bass music highlights with his impressive debut album Signals, and on the heels of his recent ‘Finesse’ EP this latest 2×12” set on Parris DJ’s Soundman Chronicles label Senary Cycles sees him offering up six new tracks that manage to veer all over the place. While Darby’s initial roots were in dubstep and grime, his later tracks have seen him wander into considerably more diverse territory, a trend this EP sees continuing. Opening track ‘Arlington Ct9’ introduces the ominously moody vibe that wafts throughout this entire collection as clattering grimy rhythms whir into life against a sweeping backdrop of cold synth ambience, pitchbent notes rising into focus as the snares and bass toms flex and snap, the entire track seeming to quietly seethe rather than really ever break loose.
‘Pace Myself’ meanwhile sees cut-up spoken MC vocals echoing out through delay against a crisp backbone of rattling footwork snare rolls and rugged, vaguely dancehall-tinged kickdrums as glassy melodic gamecore synth arpeggios add a serene edge that counterbalances the more aggressive beats. Elsewhere, ‘Lunar Tide Cycle’ offers up one of the more post-dubstep moments here as sinister sub-bass swells loom beneath a coldly alien backdrop of icy synth washes, dubbed out ghostly percussion rolls and sudden hi-hat flurries. It’s pretty much emblematic of the ominous yet lush atmosphere that permeates through this impressive EP, which sees Wen’s powers as a producer continuing to grow.
