- Altar is the latest label to emerge from the sprawling, Berlin-based Samurai family. Founder Geoff Wright is quick to separate it from the pack—this one isn't a subsidiary, but rather a brand-new endeavor curated by the same person. The rest of Samurai's labels have their roots in drum & bass, which Altar pulls away from to fully embrace techno. Its first release arrives from newcomer Nastika, who offers up four tracks of demented dungeon music, sounding a bit like Fis with the kinks straightened out.
Incantation isn't straightforward, however. The title track launches into a survival-horror landscape, all bone rattles and foreboding drones, while "Immure" has a crackly groove with basslines that sound wrapped in electrified barbed wire. There are hints of '90s-era Coil in the hobbling broken beat of "Rapture," and then "Daeva" balls everything together into one thrusting slam.
Altar's first release doesn't cover completely new ground: the sounds will be familiar to fans of Samurai acts like Ena and Fis, and the label ultimately approaches techno how Samurai Horo does drum & bass—turning its touchstones inside out. But that's often a rewarding approach, and Incantation is a strong beginning. It'll appeal to all sorts looking for weird techno or just some dark, mangled electronics.
TracklistA1 Incantation
A2 Immure
B1 Rapture
B2 Daeva