Sissel Wincent – Assorted Lights (Rosten)

0

Swedish electronic producer Sissel Wincent first emerged back in 2016 with her debut ‘Illusion Of Randomness’ EP on Peder Mannerfelt’s imprint, and now on the heels of a recent remix for Fever Ray, this latest 12” EP ‘Assorted Lights’ offers up her debut release on SHXCXCHCXSH’s Rösten label. Much has been made of Wincent’s integration of gabber elements into her minimalist techno productions, but what’s particularly interesting is the sparing way in which she uses that genre’s hammering kicks to add rhythmic ballast and punch to her tracks without subsuming them completely.

Opening track ‘Aura Syndrome’ sees a rubber band tight sense of tension between the hammering clusters of kickdrums and the more lithe, techno-centred snares that remains constant throughout, the rhythmic elements locking into a repetitive dancefloor groove as zapping rave stabs arc through the mix against buzzing analogue bass tones. The end result is far more fluid and rhythmic than the hammering kickdrum-fest that you’re probably expecting, and it’s the key to why these four tracks are so intriguing.

‘Flood On Drizzle’ sees slamming kickdrums and sinister whirring synths casting a stripped-down post-dubstep feel over urgently pulsing tones, the clattering percussion rising into a delayed-out roar against flexing distorted synth squeals. If it’s the most sub-bass oriented offering here, elsewhere ‘Milky Seas’ sends clenched packets of kickdrums juddering against stuttering hi-hats as bright noodling synths introduce a sense of dreaminess that counterbalances the teeth-rattling percussion that lurches below.

It’s closing track ‘Tungsten’ though that offers up one of this EP’s most intriguing moments as jazz horn samples get squashed against a backbone of shuddering dubstep rhythms and eerie minor-key synths, the nearest comparison point being Martyn or 2562’s techno / bass music hybrids. An excellent EP from one of techno’s most distinctive new voices.

Share.

About Author

A dastardly man with too much music and too little time on his hands

Leave A Reply