This second five track EP to be lifted from Sydney electronic act Valley Forge’s upcoming debut album ‘Artificial’ seems pretty much guaranteed to turn a few heads, with the title track seeing VF collaborating with none other than Kamahl for a downtempo electronic take on the traditional 18th century spiritual ‘Wayfaring Stranger.’ In its original album mix form, the duo’s cover version manages to tap mid-period Depeche Mode and Delerium in equal measures as Kamahl’s distinctive smooth baritone vocals roll out amidst a trailing backdrop of delicate keys, headnodding programmed beats and burbling bass synths, the track slowly building into an epic outro section of swelling ominous synths and industrial-edged beats that goes a long way towards heightening the sense of tension in Kamahl’s forlorn “I’m coming home†lyrical refrain.
By contrast, Andy Rantzen’s reworking sees him pushing the levels of ambient isolationist dread even higher as he strips the backdrop of textures beneath Kamahl’s vocals right down to just the trail of digital static and the slow planktonic drift of distant melodic tones, in an offering that hints towards the ambient minimalism of Rantzen’s prior outings as The Blue Hour. Elsewhere, previously unreleased B-side track ‘Pain Threshold’ offers up what’s easily this EP’s most thumping dancefloor moment as twinkling electro synths and pneumatic tech-house rhythms interweave with processed robotic vocals and dark electronic buzzes in a manner that calls to mind ‘Greater Reward’-era Severed Heads, before VF’s own ‘Recombinant mix’ of ‘I Want Us To Merge’ takes things out amidst an eerie downbeat crawl of vocoders, gliding hiphop-inflected rhythms and shimmering electronics, dark pop hooks lurking just beneath the surface as sampled female vocals wail in the distance. More leftfield electronic goodness from Clan Analogue that’s well worth seeking out.
Chris Downton
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