- Mysterious German duo makes menacing, hardened jungle and crushingly heavy dubstep. Makes a habit of anonymity, puts out one release a year—just enough to whet the lips of voracious fans. Yes, Anstam have pretty much nailed the sort of mysterious cult following that translates into serious musical cachet in the internet world, but it's not exactly undeserved: people get worked up about these guys for a reason.
"Baldwin"'s gut-punching breakbeats swoop majestically through a stormy atmosphere of dissonant chords and synth swirls. The growling, cacophonous basslines and visceral impact of the drums is tempered by a whimsical synth breakdown before divebombing back into its blackened pit. "Carmichael" slows things down, with Berlin-friendly scratchy chords scuffing the surface of what is essentially the duo's own implicitly junglist take on breakneck techno. Unexpected breaks fizzle and bubble from nowhere, dolorous chords hint at dubby dread, and an analogue bassline flails and squelches. The uneasy whir of it all has a curiously hauntological atmosphere.
Tracklist A Baldwin
B Carmichael