Isodyne - Dreams Torn from the Sky

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  • While entities like Perc Trax and Ancient Methods are forging on with the mission to combine techno with its occult-obsessed electronic roots, Ruaridh Law's new(ish) imprint broken20 seems even more adventurous in its quest. Skirting the limits of drone, ambient, dub and techno, the label's restless tendencies are reflected in its third release, the solo debut of Forward Strategy Group's Patrick Walker (as Isodyne). Like its dreary cover art, Dreams Torn from the Sky is unremittingly grey, but it's more an enveloping sort of doom-and-gloom than an alienating one. From the moment the drifting opener "Burn It All to Ashes" wafts into view, the distant thumping of techno can be heard in the back of all that smoke. "Ashes" and "River Of Ruin," meanwhile, are sumptuously detailed odysseys through detritus clouds and magnetic fields, ever-shifting and mutating to gorgeous finishes without ever really going anywhere. The EP takes an unexpected plunge into open air with "Sentinel," which probingly plumbs dub techno depths. Familiar elements are slowed to an ominously reverberating trudge—think Deadbeat's recent material weighed down with apocalyptic murmurings. TVO's remix pulls "Sentinel" as far away from its dub techno dressing as you could possibly imagine, transforming the track into a lush, 11-minute synth-led journey that combines the original's hefty thud with the clouded drone of its first two tracks. Finally, moving even farther away from the echo chamber is "Answer to No-One," an almost straightforward techno jam cut through with comparatively incisive chord stabs but still rendered in the dreamlike pallor that coats the whole EP.
  • Tracklist
      01. Burn It All to Ashes 02. River of Ruin 03. Sentinel 04. Answer to No One 05. Sentinel (TVO ChopCaressa Mix)
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