Gillette: Gillette (100% Silk)

This Philly trio focuses heavily on synthesizer music, with what appear to be all hardware/real-time tracks. The result is something that looks to the past as well as the present and future, borrowing from all kinds of synthy influences including krautrock and early industrial synth-pop (Cabaret Voltaire especially). The three numbered tracks herein comprise a strange slithering creature, hard to peg as it’s continually changing shape. In the 10-minute sprawl of “I” we’re treated to an assortment of affected beats, varying from dry to wet and back again, sometimes plodding and regular but often ricocheting in less predictable ways. “II” is my favorite, with its gliding melodic flirtations that touch on some of the more gorgeous synth tendencies of Cluster & co. “III” splits the difference, by contrast, between “Automation”-era Cabaret Voltaire and prime DAF without sounding like mere homage to either one, and there’s something satisfying about its evolution. The three parts work together quite well, covering a broad span of electronic improvisations sounding both current and nostalgic, veering refreshingly leftfield of my expectations.

Buy it: iTunes | Boomkat | Amazon | Bleep | Bent Crayon

Gillette – I (excerpt) by warszawarecords