The Witch Family rolls in with a pounding drum. A thudding drum chugs and as it churns it stops. It breaks. The drum’s thud ceases to a quiet whimsy. The whimsy catches air, just slightly off the ground. A synthesizer whisp wind tone swirls softly. If the drum were a glass, the synth is it’s contents. It is the space inside… The sound is gentle and gently joined by slow attack electronic winds. An octave down, the winds ground to a pulse, lush and present the sounds cajole and meander into a heavy drum beat. Big beat then tackles the synth sounds into a thought as the electronic rhythm is deepened in the stereo field with big bass drums, hand claps and dancing hats. This beat persists a bit, un-accompanied to only stop abruptly for a few bars of a slower, more straigforward 4/4 beat on the machine…It sounds like a drummer in between numbers at practice. This then, also abruplty, launches into a new beat. The new beat is somewhat “jungle” sounding and more machine-orineted in it’s sounds. It sounds less like a live drumset, that is.
Another piece begins immediately as the last one ends. It too is driven by a drum machine track and a few synth stabs. It’s very 90′s catwalk sounding. It plays without much intervention or change until it abruptly stops and heads into a sticky slow throbbing bass drum and ambient synth sound. This evolves into a “chill” dance groove, accompanied by a more melodic as well as syncopated repetitive synth line.
The rest of the cassette plays out in similar fashion. Passages of synth-fueled drone give way to 90′s inspired dance-ambient beats and melodies. Most of the material has little bite. While there is movement and orchestration it’s all very passive, filmic music. It rides the fence between minimal contemplative electronic music and body moving dance structures.
Full color J-card, pro-printed cassettes.
