What happens when you get 2 producers with the finest ears in Techno get together? You get Roogunit: a pair of deeply listening Techno heads by the names of Ashley Burchett and Luke Slater who’ve demonstrated they have the “golden ears” to root out deep sonic details and technical prowess while jamming live here on the “Bash Box” EP off Mote Evolver.
Fresh off their set this weekend at Re/Form, everyone was super stoked to see this pair get together to deliver some serious bangers.. 2 of which are featured as a fun way to break out of the dead air silence and into this EP. The title track, “Bash Box,” just lays down the 4/4 with no frills and no strings attached for a Hypnotic Techno take on Rotterdam Hardcore-meets-Chicago House. Meanwhile, “Don’t Let Go” also gives us a jackin’ mood with its deep resonant synths and rapidly swung 909 hats. Some fun and irreverent flavors are introduced with the deep vocal and the alarm clock sound, which present a bit more of a playful attitude.
In a more serious Techno aesthetic, and one audiences are both familiar with, “Koox” brings Slater’s love for dissociative high-end frequencies previously demonstrated in his Hypnotic Techno and some of the deepness that Burchett is known for. What really sets it apart is the deep interaction of elements all work really well with complexity. There’s a lot of interaction going on at once despite the few elements that are actually in play. Nothing collides, and at any given moment, any sort of combination of interactions can happen; quite striking and unprecedented.
“Sanity Regard” also gives these deep interactions, but they are more layered and meant to pull you out of your skull. There are a lot more playful investigations with synths and levels of jamming going on between the two artists on this. It’s something that feels a bit similar to Air Liquide’s live tracks back in the day.
As if they are discovering what kinds of things will play off of each other’s lines, it’s more of a window on what is happening between each other in a live setting without the rigid structure of providing just another DJ track.
Both Slater and Burchett have this wealth of sonic knowledge. This “Bash Box” EP is a lot of two talents enjoying each other’s company and reacting to the output. It’s largely spontaneous and off the cuff. It seems like it might be hinting at a precursor of a full Roogunit album where there are a lot of recordings to sift through and edit to make a solid live-inspired full length release. Even still, if that’s not the case, this is still a deeply heady and refined studio release with two sonic masterminds flexing. As they have hinted at with “Koox”, it would also be something to knock the Techno world on its collective ear. Let’s see what happens next with Roogunit.
-Sean Ocean
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