Conforce - 24

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  • Three tracks from Conforce and a remix from Gesloten Cirkel, the mysterious Dutchman who snuck into RA's Top 50 tracks last year, despite just a few solo records to date? Pretty exciting stuff on paper. "Grain" leads off the A-side, sporting punchy drums and the increasingly popular 4/4 clap pattern. It's a strange beast, with bottom-dwelling synths oozing their way up through the gaps in percussion and ghostly exhalations filling out the background. Fans of Conforce may be surprised how schizophrenic it all seems. Though the track's turbid gurgles and moody drones are arranged in a simple repetitive sequence, the constant jumps between their disparate timbres can make it seem otherwise. "Be There at Night" is more straightforward, possessing a similar feel to "Overlay," Paul Rose's recent joint under the SCB guise. Helmed by yelps of tensile synth, it thumps along to no where in particular, feeling more like a tool than a fully-fledged track. On the other side, the eponymous cut is steeped a little further in Boris Bunnik's dub-heavy past. At times, he lathers elements so vigorously in delay and reverb that they obscure the track like a swarm of angry bees. It's not just the effects that recall dub, however; the lead motif is constructed using that oh-so-popular steely synth. Moving along in asymmetrical leaps, it imparts a more lasting impression than "Be There at Night," but still lacks the spark found in Bunnik's best tracks. In contrast, Gesloten Cirkel's remix is full of fire. Opening with a Kassem Mosse "enchilada"-inspired vocal, it moves quickly into a spindly and unusual string melody. Repeatedly climbing the scales over a walloping beat, the sequence has a faintly Eastern feel (Middle or Far, I can't tell). It's not clear where either of these key elements came from, but the end result is strong enough that most people probably won't care.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Grain A2 Be There At Night B1 24 (Gesloten Cirkel remix) B2 24
RA