Technical Itch – The Machine Mind EP

January 28, 2013 • Tech Itch Recordings

I've only previously heard a few releases by Technical Itch and don't know much about the producer, although I did know he is very prolific and it wasn't too surprising that a new EP by him would crop up as one of the first releases of 2013 I'd hear. I'm nothing of an expert on this sort of music, but it's been a while since I heard some darkstep since I discovered it about a year ago. It seems not much has changed.

As far as darkstep goes, The Machine Mind EP seems typical: hard-hitting and quite fast drum 'n' bass percussion, and plenty of creepy stuff going on in the background (voice samples, violin synths, ambient rumblings, and the like). Nothing particularly new, but it's not bad, either. The tracks have a tendency to drag on, though, all of them being between six and eight minutes long. Occasionally they'll shift things up a bit to justify the runtime, but not often. "No Longer Human" definitely does, though, with its vocals and a slightly dancier and more diverse sound, making the track pretty refreshing—probably the best song on the EP.

Overall, I like it, but again it's standard Technical Itch; fans won't be disappointed, of course, but if you're holding out for something really new and interesting I'd wait a bit longer.

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Somatic Responses – Digital Darkness

February 8, 2008 • Hymen Records

Another foray into the deep, dark world of crazy electronic music: it's time for Somatic Responses, some sort of screaming electronic death machine that stabs my brain in the just the right spots. Okay, it's not a perfect brilliant album, but it's still the sort of dark dissonance I like.

Digital Darkness puts forth a style of music that (to me, so far) is pretty unique: it's incredibly heavy, and often incredibly complex, with beats that stagger madly back and forth between dark drum and bass to pounding power noise to breakcore and back again. It's difficult to call it a drum and bass album at all sometimes, as the music can get very dense and amelodic, but during other passages the beats can get quite danceable and awesome, and there is even a quiet breather track in "Neu". There are a lot of unique samples, drum kits, synth voices, and such going on, so the sound is pretty diverse from start to finish, although the consistently creepy-chaotic mood ties everything together quite nicely.

But of course, like too many electronic albums I've heard, it gets a bit too big for its britches and by the time the last couple of tracks roll around I've usually gotten tired of it. The fact that my ears have been mercilessly pounded for over an hour doesn't help things much, but at the same time I doubt that at-work-with-headphones is the ideal listening environment for this sort of music instead of some tweeked-out industrial club or something. (I don't go to clubs, okay?)

To be honest I'm a bit surprised that this album has received as much of a negative response as it has—aside from its length, I can't really find anything in it to complain about. Then again, perhaps it's grown on me; I have been listening to it quite a bit, and it already goes along nicely with all the other deranged electronic music I like. So take that as you will.

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DJ Hidden – The Later After

March 6, 2007 • Ad Noiseam

After my recent good experiences with darkstep and finding that it's a genre I enjoy, I've been trying to explore it a bit more and see what else it has to offer. A bit of exploration led me to DJ Hidden's debut album The Later After, and for being a very impromptu listen I was pleasantly surprised.

As with the Black Sun Empire I recently reviewed, one of The Later After's strongest points is its atmospherics: bits of dark ambient, buzzing drones, shimmering highs, and spoken word samples that permeate the music. I really like it; it helps make the album pretty spooky and sometimes industrial-sounding. The beats and drumlines themselves, though, should not go without mention. They are some of the best I've heard in recent memory. They alternate between being just barely there and being incredibly heavy, which fits the atmosphere well and is really effective at emphasizing dynamics. They're also pretty danceable (at least, that's what I'm guessing; I didn't actually dance to them).

Interestingly, though, DJ Hidden has managed to put together a sound that works well with pretty much nothing else. It's mostly drums and ambience—very little melody, and not much bass either. When there is a melody, though, it's always very deliberate and purposeful (see "Here Lies the Confusion"). The consequence of this is that the music feels very sparse (yet, again, I think that's the point, as it's supposed to feel creepy and atmospheric). Also, I already listen to a lot of electronic music that's very rhythm-based (and hip hop) so it's not too alien to me, while I can expect some people to be turned off by something like this. And amazingly enough, despite the style of this album being pretty consistent throughout, I don't really feel like it ever gets very repetitive. Even each track, which may only have one or two different beats to it, is still combined effectively with the atmosphere and has plenty of dynamics to keep things interesting.

I'm really glad I found this album; it's very much right up my alley in terms of style with the noise and ambience. I might concede that it's not the ideal DnB album, as there is such a heavy focus on the drums and not as much buzzsaw bass as I like, but that's okay. It's still a really good listen; recommended, as long as you know what you're getting into.

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Black Sun Empire – Cruel & Unusual

December 13, 2005 • Black Sun Empire Recordings

A lot of the time I feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark when it comes to electronic music; despite listening to it off and on for quite a long time now I still don't always grasp different sounds or concepts and a lot of things still feel very alien to me. I suppose such things happen when coming from a very rock-oriented background like I have. Yet somehow I have managed to find a lot of comfort in drum and bass music, especially the harder and darker stuff, which is probably why I enjoy stuff like Black Sun Empire quite a bit. I barely know what the term "darkstep" means yet, but if this album is a typical of the style then I know what I can more easily get into.

Like I said, I enjoy the dark stuff, and Cruel and Unusual brings it. There is a lot of dark ambient influence going on in the background which provides a nice atmospheric layer underneath some pretty interesting and often complex beats. Surprisingly (to me) there are a lot of interesting changes throughout each track and some nice diversity throughout the album to keep it interesting—the guest producers probably help out with this—and, basically, it's pretty difficult to get bored listening to this album (it might happen if you're listening carefully, but this isn't the kind of music to do that). The drum lines, while often sticking pretty closely to typical dance/rave patterns, can sometimes get nicely frantic and fun to listen to. The synths often shine as well with some fast arpeggiating melodies and hard rhythms which complement the drum patterns really nicely.

I am a bit disappointed by the inclusion of the second track, a remix by Optiv, which isn't nearly as good as the rest of the album: it's a bit too repetitive and poorly-mixed (maybe it's my headphones, though, who knows), and breaks the flow and mood set up by the first track. On the other hand, the remixes near the end of the album are great—being done by Black Sun Empire they sound just like the rest of the album and fit in very well. The version of the album I have doesn't include the second disc of pure remixes, but I'm okay with that if the Optiv remix on the first disc is indicative of the quality of the rest of them.

But Black Sun Empire's tracks are great, and this is a really enjoyable album. I'd guess that it's probably best suited for those less well-versed in drum and bass as there isn't anything particularly unique presented here and no particular standout tracks, so aficianados will probably be unimpressed with it, which I can understand. That doesn't make it any less enjoyable for me, though, and it's definitely recommended for anyone less familiar with this sort of music but still want something engaging to listen to.

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