- Liverpool-based John Heckle is prolific with his analogue jackers, many of which can feel berserk. But Trema, his fifth appearance on Hieroglyphic Being's Mathematics label, keeps the mania surprisingly sedated. The exuberance isn't lost, only made lighter. Where Blues For A Red Giant, another inventive Heckle EP from this year, rammed intergalactic distortion into the red, Trema shows off a softness with equally tripped out intentions.
The record features two lengthy jams (A1 and B2) and two short sketches in between (A2 and B1). Opener "Son of U," a scattering house track, is the oddball highlight. The tangy synths, delayed percussion and colorful bird calls hum like a teeming rainforest, and the breakdown is like being swallowed by a vortex. It all ends with a hypnotic call to "Come back, come back, come back," which makes the beatless and beautifully pensive "At The Summit" feel as though you're snapping out of a trance. Less stirring is "Where The Wild Ones Go," with a scintillating melody that's corroded and hissy. The EP ends with its title track, a wet slice of laid-back house that, like the rest of Trema, is refreshing in mood but can float off into the background.
TracklistA1 Sun Of U
A2 The Summit
B1 Where The Wild Ones Go
B2 Trema