Polish electronic producer Miroslaw Matyasik first made his debut as C.H. District back in 2001 with his Pneuma-Ti-Coi CDR on Differentiate Productions, but following the release of his Slides album on M-Tronic in 2005 (in many senses his first ‘official’ release), he seemingly went on a self-imposed hiatus from music. Six years on, this long-awaited second album on Tympanik Audio, Conclusion, sees Matyasik returning to the fray with a distinctly stripped-back, propulsive and breakbeat-centred collection that takes stylistic influences equally from progressive/nu-skool breaks and EBM. Amongst the ten tracks collected here, the overriding aesthetic falls upon, icy, highly synthesised soundscapes centred around a fusion of stripped-down synth arrangements and crisp, dancefloor centred breakbeats, the end result occupying similar territory to Tympanik labelmate Undermathic, albeit on a far more EBM-focused cyborgian tip. Opening track ‘Con-Trust (edit)’ gives pretty good indication here as to the stripped-down robotic rhythms that power beneath much of this collection, as sinister buzzing sub-bass pulses and eerie factory-line bleeps rolling against a muscular backdrop of flexing breakbeats, the resulting contorted darkness sitting somewhere between Haujobb and Aphex Twin.
‘Creep’ meanwhile sees the propulsive EBM basslines moving to the forefront as rattling industrial snares cling tightly to a glittering backdrop of melodic percussion textures and zapping synth stabs in what’s easily one of this album’s most dancefloor oriented excursions, before ‘Conclusion’ introduces a dark sense of electro-funk as clicking halfstep breakbeats slowly gather momentum amidst a looming stormcloud of throbbing sub-bass, the sudden interjection of what sounds like sampled tribal vocals adding a surreal edge to the relentless tug of the rhythms and chattering robotic voices. While for the most part things adhere fairly closely to the dark, throbbing EBM-breaks template established above, ‘Like A Human’ sees Tom Tylor’s New Wave-styled vocals taking things out into Depeche Mode-esque moody electro-pop territory, as bright buzzing synth riffs and stripped-back drum machine beats veer into the sorts of territory you’d associate more with the likes of La Roux. In some senses it’s a pity that ‘Conclusion’ doesn’t see Matyasik making many other similar ventures away from the dark breakbeat-powered heart that powers most of this album, as the aforementioned vocal collaboration easily represents one of Conclusion‘s most interesting moments. Still fans of dark, EBM-tinged breakbeat electro should find much to savor here.
Chris Downton
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