Buenos Aires-based Jonas Kopp joins the Maltese label Revolt, deepening their catalog with dusty, disembodied, hypnotic Techno with a human touch on his latest release “Inconsciencia Artificial”.
Revolt and Kopp both share an interest in keeping a low profile—sort of a clandestine secret society vibe. Not much is known about the Revolt Recordings Label, other than their catalog has a really deep and dark, disconcerting vibe to it, yet the label also plays into the concepts of hypnosis and apprehension—a sort of wary curiosity to it, if you will. Here, the ARTS label, Axis, and Tresor alum Jonas Kopp isn’t following any trends. He is sticking to a familiar hypnotic base while continuing to press forward with a dusty reverb concept laid down earlier this year, furthering it with very unique concepts of tension and release.
Across this “Inconsciencia Artificial” EP, there’s a certain softening of the edges of his tracks. EQ, reverb, and overdrive have all rounded off the edges of most corners within the music. It’s not dulled, but the hard corners of even the high hats are like the sanded-off corners of a piece of wood. The corners that are not are made bare for effect. The grain is there, the feel is well-textured, and it is definitely not a plastic aesthetic. There’s a lot of personalized care that has gone into crafting these textures. This can definitely be heard on the late ‘90s Techno-themed “Onda Intermitente” where the heavy 909 rides of the past are just a sky full of noisy atmospheres, and the up hats are carefully hand-modulated and EQ’d. The bass and sample riff is distorted harmonically over time. There’s intensity here, but it’s presented in rhythmic density.
The second track, “Inconsistencia Sostenida,” also has this rounded and subdued vibe, but it’s a bait and switch after the major change overthrowing a very sharp ride at you with heavily distorted metallic tones amid FM toms to contrast the peaceful pad that led up to the break.
Lacing up the “Inconsciencia Artificial” EP is a very unique piece with randomized values of ring-modulated bleeps on “Vacilación Frecuente”. The previously subtle EQ and distortion is evident in the background elements and the bleeps are well-rounded and band-passed. A casually detuned 909 ride is thrown in as a transition element with minimal treatment, and it seems to really float over the top since it’s the only hard-edged element within the focus of the track. What’s more, the composition is very unique, strange, and a bit unsettling, which really encapsulates the vibe of the label. It’s something that hasn’t been heard before within this collection of elements. With ring mod being one of those nearly taboo effects that nobody really uses since it’s so difficult to get it right, it’s nice to see it done well here. The track is supremely memorable because of it.
Jonas’ releases lately have been shy of landing on a lot of the labels that garner a lot of clout, though that may only be because he’s been keeping it local,and giving credibility to smaller labels that present him the ability to experiment freely. Jonas Kopp’s fans will definitely follow him anywhere, and the light shed on labels like Revolt is eye-opening since the rest of their catalog has a unique vibe that deserves deeper recognition.
-Sean Ocean
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