Jon Gurd - Birth Right EP

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  • Jon Gurd's Derelicht debut is a suite of jet-black techno, which is nothing unusual for a label whose releases have so far channeled static-smothered dubstep, morbid synth pop and other styles rendered in shade rather than colour. The Portsmouth producer was turning out catchy, feather-light tech house up until a few years ago, though, so what's surprising is that a near two-year hiatus has realigned his reference points. Though Dave Clarke shows up as one of two remixers on Birth Right, the EP draws more from early Surgeon (traces of Pet 2000's horror chords are in "Promised"'s dialled-back rhythm) and modern British techno—particularly Alan Fitzpatrick's crisp, nimble pulse. Fitzpatrick is an associate of Gurd's, and there's an agility to Birth Right that evokes their previous collaborations. With the exception of the crunchy hi-hats and thick, churning chords in "Tomorrow Is," Birth Right's originals are best suited for a night's early hours. "Promised" and "To No One," a track sprinkled with crackling ambient noise and Carl Craig-ish tones, both excel there. Clarke's fist-swinging remix of "Promised" is wrapped in caustic acid lines and spun into a customarily peak-time tool, but I found the Ancestral Voices version of "To No One" more compelling. A hissing hybrid of Cut Hands and Shackleton, with needling modular noise and slow-march polyrhythms, the remix is awash in synths that blow like icy winds across Liam Blackburn's battered surfaces.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Tomorrow Is A2 Promised A3 Promised (Dave Clarke Remix) B1 To No One B2 To No One (Ancestral Voices Remix)
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