- Boxcutter's experimented with a number of genres over the years, but his more footwork-oriented releases, on Planet Mu and now Cosmic Bridge, are among his most adventurous and eccentric. Nominally a footwork EP, Gnosis is better viewed as a collection of 160 BPM tracks that draw from a wide pool of influences, including IDM, new age and sub-heavy dance music.
By rights this tapestry shouldn't work, but Boxcutter offsets any potentially cheesy timbres with hefty sub weight and tight-knit drum patterns, cutting tracks off around the three-minute mark so they don't sound overstuffed. "Not The End Of the World" is a new age-ish introduction, where placid synths and strings are overlaid with little tinkling bells and swooning guitar lines. There are more of those ethereal chimes and synths on the patchwork-like "Daylight Saving," along with organic clacks, a meaty bassline and crisp percussion. On "Gn0515" pitched percussion anchors jittery snares and humid synth lines, but "Dream Gator" is the highlight, a wonderfully idiosyncratic footwork track where a melodic riff provides a modicum of stability amid a whirl of synths and beats that seem to trip over themselves.
TracklistA1 Not The End Of The World
A2 Dream Gator feat. Ken & Ryu
B1 Daylight Saving
B2 Gno5i5
B3 Tibetan Metastate