v1984:
Pansori (Knives)
After
a debut EP on Glacial Industries last year, v1984’s second EP is the
fifth release on Kuedo’s newish Knives label, and it’s a good one.
Pansori opens with almost elegaic piano that’s contrasted very
quickly with sputtering electronic manipulations, and that contrast
is indeed the perfect overture to the sounds to follow. Before long,
that piano is subverted by rollicking arpeggios of synths that feel
one or two levels removed from the post-rave indulgences of Oneohtrix
Point Never, dizzying in their layering and recalling some of the
rhythmic pattern-weaving of an act like TCF. The spacious
grime-tinged melodies and crisp halfbeat of “Too Much” recall
stronger moments from label boss Kuedo’s output, and it’s the obvious
flagship track of the release, eschewing most of the crazier sound
design found elsewhere.
The second side begins with the aptly named
“False Awakenings,” a 37-second wake-up call of whooshes,
disembodied synth voices, and effects, before a rhythmic assortment
of sounds burgeon up to form the foundation of “Aria of Dawn.”
Its anthemic, square lead grounds it with the same flavor of
accessibility of its A-side complement “Too Much” while arp
flourishes enhance it with spacy grandeur. As that cut feels like a
mirror to the A2, the final track feels like a bookend to the crazy
contrast of the opener. Its elegant piano is betrayed by a spastic
sprawl of highly manipulated vocal fragments and sputtering noise,
until the two finally interweave in a stuttered pattern as they fade
out to black. It’s short and sweet, just the right length for its
hectic mesh of sounds and styles. I’m keen to hear where the project
goes with subsequent releases. Recommended for those who enjoy highly
manipulated sound design and spacious beatmaking.
Buy it: Bandcamp
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