- If you were merely judging Playing With Acid by its title, you might think you were in for a short collection of warbling 303-inspired basslines. Acid, after all, is a term held dearly by many electronic musicians. But instead of being soundtracked with delicious noodling on an old Roland, we're brought spinning into a back room at a club in the '80s: a place where a faceless man coos and catcalls psychosexually from different corners and amid layers of effected loops. Yes, little comes by way of modulation, progression, or rhythm. A 303 sound does squelch out a bassline on "Playing with Acid," but it never transmutes.
On "Feel Today Think Tomorrow," a single glassy cymbal moves from channel to channel while both open and closed hi-hats clang in unison, impossibly. By the time the track reaches its bridge, an odd acoustic guitar sequence, it snaps immediately back to 4/4. "No Return No Regret" rides the same ultra-stereo soundscape. It's clear that Ahmet Sisman has a distinct direction in which he wishes to take his work. The aesthetic that glues Playing With Acid is thick. It's palpable. But without a sense of true instrumentation to support his intentions, what's heard is absent of density: the sound of electro-imitation. One can hope that through a hefty round of remixing some soul may be on its way.
Tracklist A Playing with Acid
B1 Feel Today Think Tomorrow
B2 No Return No Regret