More Squarepusher than Photek, with his first solo release in five years Felix Manuel cracks his knuckles and welds together all his far-flung influences - from singeli and gabber to deep house and dubstep - finishing it all off with his own flute playing, and a tonne of Prog flexing.
'Meaning's Edge' traces DJRum's energy over a suite of tracks that hang together so precariously you'll stand to break a sweat. It shouldn't work, but Manuel's absorbed enough music that he knows when to hang back and when to let loose. On the opener 'Codex', we're fed faint traces of resynthesized shakuhachi that sounds as if it's been snipped from a grime whitelabel. Used sparingly, there's more time for us to concentrate on Manuel's lithe acid squiggles, breaks and glitches that form a platinum-coated 2-step lurch, and as the track moves into its final act, he foreshadows its shorter, more euphoric second chapter, letting the flute take the spotlight.
The tempo's ratcheted up to a brisk 170 on 'Crawl', tapping singeli's frenetic energy without snatching the blueprint wholesale. Chopping his flute so it heaves and stutters underneath the rolling kicks and fluttered hand drums, he turns it into an atmosphere that guides the momentum, slowing things down while he adds the drums thru various distortions. It all sets the scene for the audacious 'Frekm' tracks, where he marries ornate flute with rapidly unravelling drums that transform from brushy jazz into android electro, dubstep and smoky Galaxy 2 Galaxy-style Detroit techno. As prog as you like.
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More Squarepusher than Photek, with his first solo release in five years Felix Manuel cracks his knuckles and welds together all his far-flung influences - from singeli and gabber to deep house and dubstep - finishing it all off with his own flute playing, and a tonne of Prog flexing.
'Meaning's Edge' traces DJRum's energy over a suite of tracks that hang together so precariously you'll stand to break a sweat. It shouldn't work, but Manuel's absorbed enough music that he knows when to hang back and when to let loose. On the opener 'Codex', we're fed faint traces of resynthesized shakuhachi that sounds as if it's been snipped from a grime whitelabel. Used sparingly, there's more time for us to concentrate on Manuel's lithe acid squiggles, breaks and glitches that form a platinum-coated 2-step lurch, and as the track moves into its final act, he foreshadows its shorter, more euphoric second chapter, letting the flute take the spotlight.
The tempo's ratcheted up to a brisk 170 on 'Crawl', tapping singeli's frenetic energy without snatching the blueprint wholesale. Chopping his flute so it heaves and stutters underneath the rolling kicks and fluttered hand drums, he turns it into an atmosphere that guides the momentum, slowing things down while he adds the drums thru various distortions. It all sets the scene for the audacious 'Frekm' tracks, where he marries ornate flute with rapidly unravelling drums that transform from brushy jazz into android electro, dubstep and smoky Galaxy 2 Galaxy-style Detroit techno. As prog as you like.