While the name at first suggests Russian or Eastern European origins, in reality Stuchka Vkarmanye is the working alias of electronic producer Eliad Wagner, responsible for co-founding Israel’s +G6PD label alongside Yaniv Navot and now based in the Netherlands. While he’s been fairly quiet since the 2004 release of his debut album ‘IloveMummy’ on +G6PD, this download-only debut EP on Concrete Plastic sees him breaking the silence with four tracks distinctly indebted to early eighties electro and Warp Records-style IDM. ‘Cat Food’ opens proceedings on a poppy upbeat electro note that sees bright analogue synths colliding with clicking 808 toms and snares in a manner that calls to mind a slightly more post-IDM take on Paul Hardcastle’s breakdance-friendly icy synthscapes, while ‘Mumpf’ highlights the comparisons with ‘Not For Threes’-era Plaid, as rippling melodic tones ricochet like steel drums over a spidery backdrop of clicking off-centre electro rhythms and elegantly arranged synths.
Elsewhere, ‘Idan.satan.rahm.spinat’s perhaps represents the one bit of filler here with its slightly tepid wander through midtempo electro grooves and noodly analogue synths, but in this case it’s nicely made up for by ‘Manon’s head-spinning fusion of crackling, digitally-treated percussive tones, creeping sub-bass swells and stately sounding synth-arrangements, with the deft deployment of minor keys once again immediately calling to mind comparisons with early Plaid and The Black Dog. While the contents of this EP are certainly impressive, unfortunately it’s frequently the aforementioned influences that loom largest here, meaning that it’s hard to make a real impression amongst the veritable sea of post-Warp Records informed records out there.
Chris Downton
