2024 has been a banner year for Lidvall, full of acclaim and recognition, culminating in this big, banging, and stripped-back release “Abandoned” out on Soma.
When real recognizes real, it’s wonderful to see. The indefatigable Soma Records meets a seemingly unstoppable creative talent in Lidvall. The artist began his 2024 journey on Mind Trip Records in February and has ripped it up on Newrhythic and Kazerne in the interim. It seems like the change of scenery after moving to Spain has done wonders for Lidvall’s (aka Artem Kalinin) mood and creative outlook.
The main idea Lidvall pursues here in this release is a further stripping back of elements in favor of appreciating the texture and movement over the base loops. We last looked at Dogma in August—the standout track “Failed” centered around this loop that had lots of warbled chorusing and textured movement with the faintest cymbals coming in adding an unnoticeable tension. This release also seems to pursue that concept in the tracks “Crack” and “Chorus.”
“Crack” has a very subtle movement in the high end that’s hard to piece together if listening for the first time, and it seems the gauzy high hats blanketing the mix intentionally hide a lot of the great drum programming setting up the massive strobing resonant synth subtly fluctuating on the surface. Without the fuzzy high-end present, the drum programming setting up the synth makes a lot of sense. Still, it is too simple of an idea and with the noise top-end texture present you’re left to question why listening to a giant unrelenting synth line seems so entertaining for five and a half minutes. It’s because there’s actually a lot of work going on in the details.
“Chorus” also takes this idea into consideration, where the ducked and distorted reverb is heavily modulated while subtle delays are happening in the synthetic toms or what is meant to seem like toms. The top end itself is made up of a few layers that are mashed together which are pretty difficult to distinguish, making it all the easier to bring parts in and out for tension. If you’re an outsider to techno, and you’re wondering why that guy in the car next to you is listening to this loop on repeat on full volume and rocking out, it’s probably going to be because you aren’t listening to the work put into the details.
“Like To Your Story” and “Abandoned” both offer a sensible and satisfying drum programming workout to the middle of the EP. While “Crack and ”Chorus” make up conceptually heady bookends, there’s still room for slamming techno to be had. Which is great, because a lot of the conceptual approaches with modulation, texture, and tension present in the release are here but toned down in favor of moving the track forward and making them solid dance tracks while making the gears turn in your head on the dancefloor.
If we’re to look at the release and where we are in the history of techno music, Lidvall honestly has come up with a sort of musical invention in the way that he has been able to make a static loop move and still maintain interest. He’s created a concept of minimalism within techno, but with maximalist effects processing, and yet with subtlety and taste… something that hasn’t been approached in earnest by the techno scene at large. There has been lots of focusing on textures, and distortion present conceptually over the last couple of years, but Lidvall has been more focused on the idea of masking, movement, and presenting tension in hidden ways.
For any freshman producer trying to achieve similar results, it’s a maddening concept to try to achieve, but for Lidvall, it’s an exercise in mastery.
-Sean Ocean
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