Modernist thought threw up the general notion that artists must always progress through new and ‘original’ work in order to make great art. Thankfully, post-modern thought allows the space to evaluate and explore ideas, techniques and forms that already exist. And there is a great deal to be said for working within established frameworks, submitting to their limitations and using these as inspiration rather than boundaries. It also takes a confident and creative artist to do this – there is no room for laziness.
Which is all by way of introducing Inigo Kennedy’s newest net-release on his own Assymetric label. Kennedy is no newcomer. He has been mining his versions of dark techno and its various offshoots for over a decade’s worth of releases. And while he continues to put out vinyl on his own and other labels such as Molecular, Missile and Electracom, his now regular MP3-only releases allow him to keep his muse flowing. Dark Instigations is no throw together of offcuts and random tracks. Its 35 minutes flow beautifully as an entire listening experience. Opening with a couple of up-tempo tracks, ‘Curious Tentacles (Part 1)’ then lays out seven minutes of sombre, mellow groove. More up and down-tempo contrasts round out the EP, finishing with ‘It Catches a Cloud (Somehow)’ and its beatless mood making. Kennedy sticks firmly to the sounds found in techno right from its Detroit birthplace. It’s quite dense music, but with a minimal palette and repetition that is used expertly to create a dark euphoria. It is unrepentantly traditional but uses idiosyncratic elements, such as the counter-rhythmic synth stabs and 6/8 time of ‘Trigonometry’, to establish its own voice and hold interest throughout. Kennedy establishes a mood and holds it, even though the actual tracks vary widely in their intensity and rhythmic nature.
This is the tenth in Assymetric‘s Inigo Kennedy MP3 EP series. It impressed me enough to download the entire back catalogue for further exploration.
Adrian Elmer
