Illum Sphere: The Plan Is Dead (Fat City)

Manchester producer Ryan Hunn unveils a new spastic outing as Illum Sphere for Fat City. It’s a truly exciting rollercoaster ride over its brief 5 tracks, only one of them extending beyond the 3 minute mark. It’s a raucous combination of aesthetics, including the low-end of dubstep, the detail of hyper-sequenced IDM, the frenzied collage of future-jazz (i.e. Flying Lotus et. al), and the attitude of hip hop. Hunn’s far too clever to allow any of these tracks to reside in any one specific area for very long, though; “One for Dimlite” has the warped, looped sampling of Third Eye Foundation but applied in a new context, with a buoyant bassline and odd hook. “Supercharged” is especially spazzy and fun, with its double-time bass kick and skittery percussion patterns. Its melodic frenzy that kicks in about 2 minutes in is really satisfying, indicative of just how much Hunn has crammed into the short track. So it’s sort of a relief when he takes his time more on “An Old Escape (Kill Them Kill)”, beginning with a clattering loop reminiscent of vintage Aphex Twin or Autechre. The track buzzes with activity, carried largely by a sawtooth bassline and shimmering chords overhead. Ironically, “Aftermath” closes the release and sounds more like a call to rally rather than denouement, but these tracks also do the job of leaving the listener wanting more. I for one am excited to hear what he does next!

Listen to the minimix on SoundCloud

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