The Collectors – Trainer EP (Concrete Plastic)

This 12″ EP represents the debut offering from Brighton-based label Concrete Plastic, an imprint launched by one of the founders of Ai Records and SRL with the purpose of presenting a diversity of electronic styles. The opening salvo comes from Iain Law, who is probably best known for his releases as Yunx on Isophlux and Skam, under his new Collectors persona, and as sneaker-fetish track titles such as Air Max and Shell Toe hint, the overall sound here is strongly influenced by late eighties acid house and techno. Opening track “Air Max’ certainly calls to mind associations with acid-infused “Artificial Intelligence’-era electronics, but reins in the squelchier 303 elements to bring them smoothly into balance with sweeping Detroit-tinged synth pads, while “Waffle’ threads elastic synth lines that hint at early Plaid around a backdrop of rattling broken house rhythms that’s somehow visceral and glacial at the same time. “Stan Smith’ meanwhile showcases layering of live drums that would do Kieran Hebden proud as LFO-esque acid squeals fight for space with delicate funk guitar inflections and trailing female vocal fragments. A strong first taste from Concrete Plastic that suggests some interesting things afoot.