Kilner:
Walk Type (Avian)

Jamie
Roberts’ debut under the Kilner alias is a sharp contrast from the
bangers he’s unleashed under his better known project Blawan. Whereas
Blawan throws down beats and grooves with a particular brand of
clatter, his music as Kilner feels more understated, inside out even.
Its granular, deconstructed beats would feel more at home in the
clicks_+_cuts zeitgeist of 2000 than on the dancefloor, with a
squirminess about its arrangements that feel almost uncomfortable.
There’s a white noise grit about most of these sounds, a sort of
built-in hiss factor that casts a film over its six cuts. This lends
it a bit of extra nervous energy, like the buzzing of insect wings,
particularly on fidgety numbers like “Insa” and “Otto Morph.”
The Pan Sonic-esque mechanical lull of opener “Sunsera” starts it
off in style, but my favorite of the bunch is the leering dread of
“Filk,” the second cut, brimming with intense drones and a dense,
murky groove.

It’s great to hear Roberts exploring terrain so far
removed from the dancefloor, especially when considering how punchy
and brash Blawan often sounds. It’s also more leftfield for Avian,
deviating from the more straightforward, aggressive techno that
characterized the label for its first several releases. By contrast,
the last couple of cuts feel more conventional, dipping their toes
into more familiar dancefloor frameworks with the steady kick of
“Auto Wave” (whose fat, chorused chords recall the aquatic
sculptures of Drexciya) and the driving boom boom bap of “Tamtara.”
These more typical tracks provide some complementary contrast to the
more experimental gestures that kick off the release, but I find
myself more drawn to the more curious and experimental front end of
the release. Well worth a listen for fans of outward reaching
experimental rhythmic music, such as Pan Sonic or the Raster-Noton
label.

Buy it: Avian