Obscure Shape makes his breakout solo debut EP on Cleric’s Clergy Records based in Manchester with the “Elemental” EP—a release filled with energy and classic proper Techno aesthetics.
Luigi Urban, better known as Obscure Shape, has been part of the highly successful pairing known as SHDW & Obscure Shape for many years and helped launch Mutual Rytm into the well-known and respected international label it is known for today.
Known for being a powerhouse of groove-based Techno and a deep lover of classic Techno from the late 90s and early 00s, Obscure Shape is here flexing some strong performances on his collection of machines. The fuzzy drive and their subtle treatment afterward in editing is a real signature of Obscure Shape’s style, as he prefers to make takes of long recordings, rather than obsessive tweaking in the DAW. The resulting sound is full of captured energy and feeling from the artist, directly recorded live, and a bit looser than his contemporaries.
At the same time, Obscure Shape also takes the modern potential of all of his outboard gear to great effect, doing things people in the late 90s wished they could be doing, and doing so with more potential in 2024. The artist is also a big favorite among his fans because of the pure expression of joy within Techno, a form of music that has been a part of his daily life since the age of 13. With Obscure Shape, there’s no shortage of love for the music that does not come across in his sounds, and he is overjoyed at the opportunity to share it with others.
This “Elemental” EP is definitely all of that wrapped up in a nutshell. All the tracks are dope, and fully worth copping a vinyl copy of, but the track “Seiten des Lebens” highlights the synopsis of the main ideas of the EP. The subdued bass and kick pattern set up a synthesized drum loop reminiscent of old-school beat chops, carrying this track’s overdriven theme and the characteristic fuzz predominant in the EP. This is a pretty interesting new way to approach an old concept, with drum patterns programmed on the Election Analog Rytm rather than chopped or sampled phrases. This would separate Obscure Shape stylistically from most Ableton users since clip launching and using sample libraries within it is very abrupt, creating these hard angles that have been a characteristic sound in Techno since Ableton’s launch. Obscure Shape is an Ableton user, of course, but prefers to record longer passages which makes for a different and unique approach to the program.
In addition to the functional groove this all sets up, “Seiten des Lebens” shows that the artist has no shortage of fondness for the classic 909 claps and detuned cymbals of days gone by. This sets up a quick call-and-response analog synth pattern where the layers are all slightly manipulated in real time. Finally, the track is topped off by a filtered out of recognition vocal leading you to focus on it while the layers peel away.
There are some absolutely outstanding releases this week. Though the time spent with Obscure Shape on this release feels special since this is his chance to really say something unique to himself that he’s been meaning to say, and wanting to say for some time. Absolutely slamming release from one of the best musician’s push to Techno in 2024.
-Sean Ocean
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