- We Make Hits, Not the People is the second in a trilogy of physically-released EPs by Downliners Sekt, four tracks exploring the innermost mechanisms of electronic music. Gears grind, pistons slam, exposed circuity enervates by rerouting electricity into explosive dead ends, all that good industrial stuff. Not unlike Raster-Noton's recent output, the fastidiously mechanical music shares certain structural ideas with dubstep. However, the force with which these beats crash and skid on the warehouse floor packs a determined wallop far greater than even the deepest sub-bass caverns of London.
As opposed to the unfriendly "industrial detritus" of preceding EP Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation, Hits feels more structured. Every track carries some sort of vocal melody, presumably sampled from any number of pop or R&B sources. They may be fragmented and occasionally encased in suffocating bulletproof glass, but they're melodies nonetheless. Downliners Sekt don't go about the typical route of dehumanizing androgyny or fashioning the anthemic and triumphant out of snippets, but rather use their siren songs to thicken the dread. On "White Dawn," a disconnected voice tremulously whimpers "I feel so cold"—it's too easy, too obvious and too effective.
"From Under Spinning Lights" starts the EP off with subtle sputters, synths whirring in the background—until the swinging beat finally drops, brutal by anyone's standards. This is painful music. Probing tendrils of electricity snarl and spark, menacingly creeping up the sides. The softly cooing vocals exhorting that "love is real" from somewhere deep within the track's churning chambers are mocking, an ugly approximation of humanity from a hulking mech.
Those electric currents combine with the beats for the startling "Incertia Gloria": Think five Reese basslines playing at once. But just like the previous EP, the final track shows the most progress: the potential energy of "Selfish G" is such that it sounds like the track is compelled to move, a violent thrust that nearly brings it down from within. Horns murmur in the distance and vocals babble meaningless phrases that ride the same unnatural horizontal trajectory; this mechanical beast isn't even pretending to be human anymore. As the track burns itself out, consumed by digital distortion flames, it becomes a question of whether or not Downliners Sekt vision is a dystopian reality or a nightmarish hallucination, but while their beats are playing, the thrilling terror—or awe—they inspire renders such matters meaningless.
Tracklist01. From Under Spinning Lights
02. Incerta Gloria
03. White Dawn
04. Selfish G