- Arcarsenal is Alan Mathias and Etienne Dauta, two Berlin-based Frenchmen with strong ties to Neukölln's Bass Cadet record shop. (Dauta runs the storefront, and the duo kicked off its eponymous record label.) Their latest lands on local imprint Finest Hour, and it sounds like the work of a production team that's spent a lot of time in the record bins—if not for the usual reasons. Rather than overtly reference classics, Arcarsenal seem to have internalized the simplicity of so many great DJ tools and gone their own way.
The results are tremendously subtle—you might even say dry—but inspired nevertheless. "Perpetual Workout" is pure percussion until about a third of the way through, when streaks of dubby melody join the bouncy drums that underpin the track. Spacious yet driving and detailed to the extreme, it sounds like it was produced specifically for Fred P's record bag. "Ancient Language" places emphasis on the low-end, with sub-bass pulses egging on a steady cymbal tick and waves of ambient melody. On the flip, ethereality gives way to Arcarsenal's tougher side. They put a little grit in the bassline and set their drums to a familiar electro stutter for "Quoth"—it's hardly a heavy cut, but it shows Mathias and Dauta can slam a little when they want to. With its ultra-wide pads and syncopated bass, "Like Leftovers" is easily the EP's most melodic track. Its gooey major chords, though, get sliced and diced by a swarm of sharp drum hits. Arcarsenal might have a light touch, but they know how to bite.
TracklistA1 Perpetual Workout
A2 Ancient Language
B1 Quoth
B2 Like Leftovers