Conforce - Travelogue EP

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  • Boris Bunnik sounds comfortable as ever on the latest EP from his Conforce project, which is kind of a double-edged sword. It gives Travelogue's nuanced techno a lived-in quality that allows you to nestle into the cyclical productions easily, but the EP is also content to spin its wheels at times. Each of the four tracks are built on a closed circuit that favors subtly fluctuating grooves over linear propulsion, an approach that works best when Bunnik's impromptu flourishes aren't buried in the mix. The synth lines and atmospheric pads that helped flesh out Bunnik's recent Delsin release, Depth Over Distance, and last year's solid Kinetic Image LP, have been largely stripped back on Transcendent and replaced with cavernous reverb and noise. The slow and deliberate pulse of "Phase7" is bolstered by little other than peripheral whispers and a fluctuating one-note bassline, which "Informatica" makes better use of with higher tempos and greater attention to detail. Highlights "Coast To Coast" and "Zero Five Eight" use extra layers of interlocked rhythmic elements to hint at more forward movement, and there's even some bright melody woven into the former. Bunnik unquestionably has a variety of modes for making techno, though consistency would have best served Travelogue overall.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Phase 7 A2 Informatica B1 Coast To Coast B2 Zero Five Eight
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