Triumphant return to Raster Noton for Byetone, with his first EP/album since his brilliant, name-making Death Of A Typographer. Seven tracks to get your teeth into here, available on both CD and 12" vinyl, and the most impressive expression yet of this artist's sleek, dark-hearted techno-not-techno sound. You know you're in good hands from the opening: 'Topas' builds out of caustic glitch into a funked-out 4/4 mantra, and 'T-E-L-E-G-R-A-M' restores electro's unheimlich power - imagine DJ Stingray dosed up on smack, German porn and obscure architecture journals. 'Neuschnee' takes a slower, dubbier tack, reminding us a little of Byetone's labelmate Senking, but with a more stripped-down, machine-tooled aesthetic. 'Opal' feels like a fleshy riposte to the bleep-bloop of vintage Pan Sonic and Sahko Records, not to mention Byetone's own classic 'Plastic Star', while 'Black Peace' and particularly 'Helix' are unbelievably heavy-duty, industrial techno-metal smash-ups, sounding like some unholy hook-up between Suicide, T++, Cloaks, Godflesh and Sunn O))) (in other words: unmissable). The album concludes with the louche drum machine patterns and malevolent drones of 'Golden Elegy'. Absolute quality.
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Triumphant return to Raster Noton for Byetone, with his first EP/album since his brilliant, name-making Death Of A Typographer. Seven tracks to get your teeth into here, available on both CD and 12" vinyl, and the most impressive expression yet of this artist's sleek, dark-hearted techno-not-techno sound. You know you're in good hands from the opening: 'Topas' builds out of caustic glitch into a funked-out 4/4 mantra, and 'T-E-L-E-G-R-A-M' restores electro's unheimlich power - imagine DJ Stingray dosed up on smack, German porn and obscure architecture journals. 'Neuschnee' takes a slower, dubbier tack, reminding us a little of Byetone's labelmate Senking, but with a more stripped-down, machine-tooled aesthetic. 'Opal' feels like a fleshy riposte to the bleep-bloop of vintage Pan Sonic and Sahko Records, not to mention Byetone's own classic 'Plastic Star', while 'Black Peace' and particularly 'Helix' are unbelievably heavy-duty, industrial techno-metal smash-ups, sounding like some unholy hook-up between Suicide, T++, Cloaks, Godflesh and Sunn O))) (in other words: unmissable). The album concludes with the louche drum machine patterns and malevolent drones of 'Golden Elegy'. Absolute quality.
Triumphant return to Raster Noton for Byetone, with his first EP/album since his brilliant, name-making Death Of A Typographer. Seven tracks to get your teeth into here, available on both CD and 12" vinyl, and the most impressive expression yet of this artist's sleek, dark-hearted techno-not-techno sound. You know you're in good hands from the opening: 'Topas' builds out of caustic glitch into a funked-out 4/4 mantra, and 'T-E-L-E-G-R-A-M' restores electro's unheimlich power - imagine DJ Stingray dosed up on smack, German porn and obscure architecture journals. 'Neuschnee' takes a slower, dubbier tack, reminding us a little of Byetone's labelmate Senking, but with a more stripped-down, machine-tooled aesthetic. 'Opal' feels like a fleshy riposte to the bleep-bloop of vintage Pan Sonic and Sahko Records, not to mention Byetone's own classic 'Plastic Star', while 'Black Peace' and particularly 'Helix' are unbelievably heavy-duty, industrial techno-metal smash-ups, sounding like some unholy hook-up between Suicide, T++, Cloaks, Godflesh and Sunn O))) (in other words: unmissable). The album concludes with the louche drum machine patterns and malevolent drones of 'Golden Elegy'. Absolute quality.