Curses
Perfect High
Altered Circuits
Luca Venezia is a tastemaker DJ and producer in the classic mold; via his remixes, curation as the selector behind the superlative Next Wave Acid Punx compilations, and his releases CURSES, the Berlin based artist has been forging a varied, but consistent blend of darkwave, disco, EBM that keeps an eye to the dancefloor but doesn’t skimp on the atmosphere. On Perfect High Venezia digs deep into the new beat and NRG sounds that have informed his work, leaning heavily on funky rhythm programming for grooves. The title track doesn’t waste much time, establishing a big shuffling rhythm accented by orch hits, buzzy synth bass and stabs of sampled guitar to carry the track, its melody limited a simple repeating synth 3 note synth figure and repeated vocals. “Killer Instinct” strips everything down drums and e-bass, much of its texture found in the delay and reverb trails that follow its metallic perc hits and vocal samples. The new beat influence really comes to a head on “Dare 2 Dream”, where a brassy lead flies above pitched and chopped samples and a simple but effect kick-snare pattern, rolling hard at a dancefloor friendly mid-tempo rhythm. CURSES rarely misses, and given how in his wheelhouse Perfect High is, he wasn’t about to start here.
Transmigration
Living Information
self-released
London act Transmigration has an immediate rush of nostalgic appeal on recent EP Living Information. Anyone cursorily familiar with electro-industrial will feel immediately at ease with the mix of echoing programming, samples, and vocals which reverberate through the title track or closer “Convergence” – a healthy balance of composition and production ensures that the acid panache of those tracks never oversteps the solid grooves at their base. But spend a bit more time with the EP and you’ll be impressed by how Transmigration’s able to call back to the antecedents of that style as well as bring it into the present without losing their own personality. “Ceaseless” carries a familiarly furtive 242 style forward via the like of Visitor and other modern lo-fi stylists, while the stuttering electro kicks of “Understanding” suggest either Kontravoid or (real heads remember) By Any Means Necessary. That’s a pretty wide historical spread, but Transmigration’s vocal personality as well as their yen for wet, dark electro reverb links those respective points along a thirty-plus year history quite handily. Fun, chewy, and satisfying listening for those who know their history.
