Newest Forthcoming release by Steve Bicknell and his alias The Evader off Milan imprint KR3 features the artist’s unusual mentalist techno and proves the English veteran has no shortage of music to challenge the status quo.
This latest 6 track EP, or possibly mini album by Steve Bicknell off mysterious Milan-based label KR3 is nothing less than another collection of brain twisting techno in Bicknell’s new and unfettered distorted and experimental style. The label seems to cater to Japanese techno and has been said that it has been geared towards specifically advancing mental Bicknell beats. Quick look at the label fine print has you noticing with a happy raised eyebrow Tim Xavier is on the job as master and on the vinyl lathe for this release, so that you know… not only is the release going to feature a full set of mind warping techno by Steve Bicknell, it’s gonna be loud and clear af. So watch your gains when throwing down this slab.
In the following series of tracks from side a to side b, the titles “A day in the life” reflect on a possible side effect in their creation. Since Bicknell has said in interviews that he creates tracks really fast ( or they just fall out of him..) So we’re left to assume each is kind of a reflection of a possible mood or a documentation of the day as it stood; maybe even never going back to fix them for each day.
First track on Day in the Life “A 1” is by alias The Evader coming straight out of the gates with zero intro, warehouse filling bass wash.. white noise infused high hats and ear level resonant saw arpeggio. The track is unrelenting on this as the main idea save for slight imperfections in the saw pattern and switched on and off routings of cut off.. gradually increasing in chorus effects and applications of a grab bag of other effects and steady distortion, rather at whim. There’s slightly other background elements at play but it’s kind of this “That’s it, that’s the whole track” kind of mentality at play here. -Take it or leave it. From a DJ perspective it makes for a nice sand paper textured blend and you can choose your favorite parts to loop up if on digital. Not for casual listening whatsoever.
“A 2” by Evader here starts up again straight up and into a deep distorted chorded low rocky landscape of rounded synths amid distorted aggregate of a pad. The evolution of the track is in the synth release knob and the delay overlay of the satisfying grooving variations of hat patterns. The track seems super functional as a grooving piece and in general it seems like this track is part of a much longer jam and cropped out at the best parts to make a functional song.
“A 3” has us treated to an ambient excursion with a raspy cloudy distortion of what you might call white noise over head which seems to be an distorted sample of surface noise from a run off groove (?). It’s actually fascinating piece of sound art because you know it’s familiar but it has taken on a life of its own. Whether you choose to listen to this distracting and fascinating element or the narration of a voice being reversed and played forward among a whistling alert sound drenched in reverb is on you, but the overall effect is somewhat confusing and captivating. The vinyl junkies will appreciate trying to decipher just what is said, here, pausing and pulling the track backwards and forwards by hand… maybe it’s a nugget for those who went out to collect the beautifully packaged vinyl?
“B 1” has Steve Bicknell switching back to himself, though this seems much like another more ‘bassier’ sound art piece from The Evader’s track on “A 3..” you want to ask what’s the significance of the name change? As an intro piece to the rest of the tracks on the flip, this works. “B 2” seems to also be a continuation of the similar Idea of A 1 with more progressive elements as courtesy to the brave DJs who choose to be apart of this chaos. “B 3” gives us solace back to the deep comfort of a warm familiar well rounded kick drum and a heavily EQ’d arpeggio progression with cut off and resonance tricks..quietly distorted.. -which a definite theme his, controlling the chaos of the distortion.
After going through this record you wanna ask, “hey Steve, you aight?” If these are a reflection of A Day in the Life you want to really know how those days are reflected in the music.. though I imagine with this most likely being created in the height of the pandemic there’s definitely going to be a lot of uncertainty, but also a certain devil may care approach to the music which lends itself well to artistic license. As far as it being techno, that it is. But I would definitely say this is more or less a cross section of Bicknell’s life and should be considered as sound art that really challenges the status quo. It would take a very un casual observer to sit down to digest and process every nuance. The tracks kind of read as bleak abstract expressionist works and if you look at them in that context they are more formal works of art that can be placed in a curated set of similarly challenging techno, to really break a listener’s mindset of what music or techno can be in general.
-Sean Ocean
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