This genre-spanning and frequently surprising EP succeeds in making disparate influences from EBM to hyperpop cohere in what could be imagined as a creatively curated, subterranean cyberpunk ruin.
VTSS made a name for herself on the Polish underground techno scene with her relentless, cheeky sets; and now enjoys a well-deserved status as a bonafide techno tastemaker in bunkers worldwide.
A master of subverting techno monotony by fracturing her sets with blistering breakbeat; the opening track, a collaboration with LSDXOXO, makes perfect sense. A vaguely tribal, EBM-tinged track made unforgettable by lyrics so filthy it makes “WAP” sound puritanical by comparison, and a screw-loosening, rafter-shaking distorted kick; it’s actually one of the more sonically restrained offerings on the release.
The meat of the album consists of hammering techno full of ear candy, tracks like “C.E.T. Unlimited” set ablaze with buzzsawing baselines and pitched whorls of white noise functioning as a sprinkle of melodic intrigue in the background. This track will accelerate any set to maximum intensity, and it is clear that VTSS has the experienced DJ’s ear for knowing how each track can be specifically employed to modulate the energy of a night in progress.
The finely articulated production on tracks like “Woah” refreshingly draws partly from the burgeoning world of hyperpop, seeming to share a certain philosophy of sound design as a subfield of materials science. The chirps of mechanical birds and electrical arp plucks float over top the super metallic toms and bioartificial snare hits particular to this new kind of production methodology. It’s exciting to hear so much attention paid to creative sound design in a techno release, and really sets releases like this apart from the dross.
An album full of sharp left turns, we next get a little more chilly darkwave influence paired perfectly with a cool, affectless vocal delivery courtesy of Jasmine Azarian. This is followed up with two back to back techno stompers that sound like glitched, urgent communiques from a rebel faction of ravegoers in an uncertain technological future. “So ends the reign of men”, a robotic voice intones, ushering in the posthuman era. Overall, the EP succeeds in making these disparate influences cohere in a creatively curated (and ultracool) subterranean cyberpunk ruin. If this is the sound of Poland, take me to Warsaw!
-Winston Mann
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