Restive Plaggona
Primal Nature
Several Minor Promises
Even by the prolific standards of Greek producer Dimitris Doukas, 2025 was a busy year. With seven releases as Restive Plaggona, it would be fair to wonder how much juice Doukas had left in the tank for Primal Nature at the end of the year. Still, the sound and quality of the record is very much in line with the simultaneously noisy yet thoughtful sound that the project has been exploring for some time now, forgoing easy dancefloor beats and exploring more rhythmically and texturally complex forms of industrial techno.
The key to Primal Nature, and the majority of Restive Plaggona’s beat-oriented work, lies in the intersection between fluid synthesized melodies and crushed and thudding percussion. Where a track like “Have You Ever Died” establishes itself via blown out bass, metallic percussion hits and crunchy loops, the noise is a place-setter for the soft menace of its melody, which rises up subtly, gradually overtaking the mix. “Desire, Hunger, Survival” works the same idea, setting up a groovy pattern of rhythmic noise styled drums and muted saws, then wrapping them in a fluttering blanket of pads that never quite materializes.
That emphasis on the clarity of the melodies leads to some of the project’s most easily graspable songs. Despite the distortion on the kick and the heavy processing on its gated lead, there’s almost a synthwave vibe to a track like “Worst Kind of Wanting”, its soundtracky strings and flute-like lead bolstered by the fairly straight rhythm arrangement. “Well Trained Eye” on the other hand dips into some Eastern musical modes, a trancey lead and twisting sequences infusing its Detroit-styled electro arrangement with wormy mystique. “The Medicine” forgoes the static and fuzz altogether as it brings plucked and vocal sounds together into a lovely arrangement that keeps the rhythm steady, but understated for effect.
There’s plenty to chew on on Primal Nature musically, and while it’s got a pleasantly off the cuff production style with an ear towards clarity even at its most cacophonous, there’s never a sense that any decision was made without consideration. Restive Plagonna has found a good balance between harshness and tasteful musicality here, accessible without ever being too easy or obvious.
