Polarity "Phenomenon" (2025)

 

Here lies a labour of love for sound design! This four track stint pushes crisp clarity and aesthetic action directly to your ears! Moreso an indulgence in rhythm, mood and atmosphere, a lack of melodic direction laser focuses one on its textural treats within. Phenomenon folds the attention of its own sparseness upon those razor blade Drum N Bass beats and channeled low end oscillator articulations with a touch of class.

Sleek, smooth yet hard hitting, these tracks cruise through an emotionless void of alien charisma, riding rhythmic energy to deliver pulses, slides and reverberations of synthetic sound crafted by matured skill. With sublime tone and execution, focus resonates at its electronic textures, making each sonic arrival feel like the point itself, rather than an element contributing to a larger, potentially progressive, vision.

The opening collaboration very much captures two voices figuring out how to share a space together. Funk basslines worm their way into the context with shouts and quirky Disco jabs. It strips this track of a charm heard across the other three cuts, which offer listeners a reason to tune in, drop out, and revel in a void of synthetic delights.

Rating: 6/10

Slowdive "Kisses (Remixes)" (2024)

The highlight of last years Everything Is Alive was undoubtedly Kisses! A warm, dreamy track, serine and blissful in its innocent Shoegazing goodness. This EP stitches on three similar length remixes. Surprisingly, they do a decent job furthering the magic of this song. An opening electronic mix trades in walls of Ethereal noise for classic sine wave pulses, a stripped back rendition adding retro flare to the music.

Daniel Avery's remix drops in a pacey Drumstep loop to energize the temperament with stealthy Liquid Drum & Bass vibes. Additional glazier synths accompany too, replacing vocals for the songs later half. A collaboration with Ambient legends Grouper claims the highlight. Dialing up its rumbling ambiguities and retreating percussion entirely, the music becomes washed up in a haze of reverberating clouds.

Ending with the original composition affirms its excellence. Somehow spinning this over a handful of times doesn't tire such a beautiful song. Totally worth a listen if you vibed with it in any capacity. I would however critique a lack of daring to stride in search of new terrain. These remixes played it safe and straightforward, which works.

Rating: 3/10