Coyu’s perennial powerhouse label Suara drops an experimental release by Left Side Concept, an artist that could very well be a side project from a bigger name; no way to tell, there seems to be no trace of Left Side Concept on the interwebs as of yet.
With no artist, EP, or track descriptions, Suara mysteriously releases a most interesting collection of cuts by Left Side Concept, the third EP by the artist on this label in 2021! A busy output by a single producer for any label, let alone one as hefty as Suara. That fact alone could fuel our growing speculation regarding the artist’s identity. Regardless, this EP reveals an adventurous outing by an evolving, searching, curious producer, whoever it might be.
“Agitation” starts with an insistent arpeggio pattern, anticipation building to a kick drum and a vocal as the intro drops. White noise pulses in a percussive rhythm, soon revealing itself to be a deceptive snare roll. What sounds like a wooden stick slides left and right, in slight stereo. The vocal unveils to say “My Agitation,” perhaps a confirmation of emergency on planet earth, perhaps something more personal.
“Dawn of Man” introduces deep rave energy, with a sense of huge space and classic-feeling arpeggios galloping. Derbouka patterns treated with pristine reverb float in and out of the mix, creating a percussive but psychedelic effect. Wherever the mood was in Agitation, here we are clearly somewhere else. There is a sense of excitement and change, we are on an acid-tinged journey and it’s definitely going somewhere mysterious. There’s no sense of darkness, we feel connected.
The search continues in the record’s title track. This time, the heartbeat of the production is the rolling kick drum pattern. It pulses in an almost electro fashion, breaky but not quite hardcore. There’s no obvious snare or bassline, so the feel of the track is intense, experimental, but not 4 on the floor either; rather a more pure, electronic, industrial, tribal feel. Very minimal, mostly beat, with several noisy synth textures dropping in and out to accentuate the conflict/growth in the emotional content. The arc of “Change of Morals & Consciousness” is undeniable.
“Simplicity” feels like a resolution. A question has been answered. What sounds like a melodic vocal or violin, almost reminiscent of a mournful doudouk begins speaking, evolving its phrasing like a soloing lead. While this exotic element has been introduced, the track remains in steady techno territory, hypnotic and grounded.
Very difficult to categorize, showcasing an expressive progression, this EP was released on July 23, 2021. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this artist, the music as well as any future details regarding biography and identity.
-Nicolaas Black
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