On his Myspace page New York-based DJ / producer Kris Gale (aka Rekall) describes his search for reliable distribution avenues as an ‘ongoing source of pain’, and it’s for this reason that he’s opted to make this debut album available as a download only through iTunes. Upon listening to the contents of ‘Actual02’ it seems inconceivable that a label hasn’t snapped him up before now, as this debut collection easily comes across as brimming with far more personality and individuality than many other similar releases that have hit my inbox this month. With a young Gale apparently being exposed to the influences of electro-industrial and EBM by an older brother before taking refuge through the US alt-rock glut of high school in the sounds of the likes of Orbital and Aphex Twin, there’s certainly more than a hint of the above reference points in the soundscapes being explored, but in this case Gale has managed to stamp his own distinct personality onto proceedings.
While the gliding electro rhythms of ‘Thymine’ certainly hint at forebears such as Skinny Puppy and FLA in the sinister bass synth chord progressions that slither beneath the crisp hi-hat programming, there’s a sense of enveloping and almost wistful atmosphere generated by the hypnotic repetition that lifts things far outside the usual one-dimensional ghetto occupied by so many other producers citing the above acts as touchstones. ‘Trap’s moody fusion of melancholy ambient atmospheres and skittering, dubbed-out hiphop rhythms meanwhile calls to mind the murky urban dirt explored by Team Shadetek’s beats, while growling, bass-infused tech-house moment ‘Adenine’ shows Gale extending his range toward the dancefloor with confident ease. Somebody – give this man a decent distro deal now.
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