Pangaea - Viaduct

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  • The advent of another artist-run label tends to be greeted with a universal shrug, but then most artists—or label owners, for that matter—aren't Pangaea, who runs Hessle Audio with Ben UFO and Pearson Sound. His inaugural single on new label Hadal doesn't deviate far from his blueprint of percussive techno, garage and jungle hybrids, but it's perhaps meatier than Hessle's more spartan recent releases. The subtle tension and release Kevin McAuley's been displaying since his debut, Coiled, works well in "Viaduct"'s first half. Tightly woven percussion, grimey stabs and an earworming synth build patiently, until the track performs a volte-face and becomes something altogether brasher and uglier, threatening chaos but remaining just within McAuley's control. "Mission Creep" is obviously a DJ tool by design. It's the kind of gloriously functional track that in the right set is a real weapon, its weighty kicks and clattering snares bruising but exquisitely detailed. The real star, though, is "Razz," which opens with an abstracted vocal snippet and cymbal crash. What follows is as frenetic as "Mission Creep" is tight-lipped: an oddball bit-crushed synth melody married with hurtling breakbeats that manage to sound gritty and polished at the same time. A greyscale pad replaces the melody and renders the roiling percussion ever more potent, until the final snare crash hits with the chilly shock of an ice bath.
  • Tracklist
      1. Viaduct 2. Mission Creep 3. Razz
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