- In the past year and half, Blank Slate has gradually built a reputation for releasing dubby, strung-out and consistently intriguing techno. This EP from little-known Polish producer Michal Wolski is a worthy addition to its canon. Wolski already seems to be making waves in his homeland—he also works as a DJ, journalist, radio host and boss of the techno label Minicromusic Rec—and releases of this quality should bring him wider recognition sooner rather than later.
"Who Am I" rests on a disorientating mechanical clank that initially feels slightly irritating. By the track's midway point, though, Wolski has succeeded in making it feel like a natural companion to its gentle kicks-and-hats spine. "Measurement" retains a good deal of the opener's contrarian characteristics while pointing towards the release's mesmeric latter stages, with spacey features leavening the stormy, serrated bass. The skittering chimes and gloomy bass of "Bells" achieves a fidgeting, half-awake mood, while the dark drama of closer "Black Swan" is the EP's standout moment. A tranquilised ten-minute psychodrama featuring gigantic, looming chords and unsettlingly percussion, it further marks out Wolski, and indeed Blank Slate, as ones to watch.
TracklistA1 Who Am I
A2 Measurement
B1 Bells
B2 Black Swan