Vytear’s knows the score. Rhythmically complex, melodic electronic music isn’t hard to come by, but there’s a distinct sense of fun in Vytear’s gear that makes it a cut above. For instance on “Out Clean”, a wah-wah synth line meanders around beats which gradually become more frenetic, with jungle’s amen crunchiness joining in until the synth becomes a funky bassline… This recalls the best of Luke Vibert’s amen-infused junglisms (joyfully continuing in his latest incarnation, Amen Andrews). In the press release, Plaid are namechecked as having “played” (presumably DJed) Vytear’s tracks. Plaid’s exceptional sense of melody and harmony are hard to touch (Brothomstates notwithstanding), but Vytear’s on the case. Still, these ears are hearing more µ-Ziq than Plaid in these tracks. There’s a pervading musicality throughout, so even the beats hop around in a melodic fashion. Cute jaunty melodies poke their heads in, often jostling for space and cutting in for one or two bars in the middle of something else. The more ambient tracks like “Heston” only serve to emphasize how comfortable Vytear would be in the Planet µ camp. Here, a lone synth line gets interrogated by various DSP’d sounds, like a fucked-up Jean Michel Jarre. Nice one. Mostly, though, Vytear’s interested in the frenetic beats (“Serve while agitated” says the rather whimsical press release), and whether they’re pure cut up breaks or the more recent DSP-effected beats (think Funkstörung on speed), they hit the spot without ever taking away from the melodic content. For a new artist on a label I’ve never heard of, this is a very fine release.
Peter Hollo
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