it’s producers like blawan that really excite me. not just ‘cos he makes nice toons, or arranges drums and synths in a slightly different pattern, but because of how unique sounding they are; as if cut from a different cloth than 99% of the rest of what is out there. it sort of gives me hope that electronic music needn’t always be about revivalism and that it can still incite shock and awe as it surely did in the early days.
teshno
'in germany, they can't say 'techno,' they say 'teshno'' ~ seth troxler [march 2008]
blawan ~ ‘what you do with what you have’ / ‘vibe decorium’ on r&s
blawan – bohla ep on r&s
i’m primarily a house and techno fan but, as time passes, dubstep and all its virulent off-shoots are becoming an ever harder mistress to ignore. it’s retarded-good eps like this new one on the reinvigorated r&s with its muscular, boisterous and machine made forms that increasingly have my eyes wandering in their direction. it’s only the second release from london based beat bully, blawan, and though his debut on hessle audio was just as tough and mechanical as are the tracks which make up this bohla ep, it didn’t quite bounce with such a satisfying grind.
the opener and title track, doused in a lip-curled, proto-acid funk, is the highlight: it’s twisted, squelching, only-just-restrained and has a thunderously kicking bottom end. pinging acid sounds strike when the sub booms and everything works together in resonant, bite size phrases to drag your head and shoulders back and forth, back and forth. wherever it comes from (dunno), whatever it’s influenced by (dunno), whatever it is (dunno) it grabs your attention like scalding water on the soft of your skin: awesome.
next track ‘kaz’ is less assertive, but instead fizzes with a nervous, kinetic energy in place of the immovable forces of ‘bohla’. frenetic acid lines rip in and out whilst a double kick punches out the lazy rhythm below, before the initial raspy madness is offset by passages of colourful xylophone (or something) which occasionally drip down from above, blissfully unaware of the sonic carnage they blanket with a calming humour. the end result is a mutant, twitching track that verges on the edge of insanity but never quite seals the deal.
then, as soon as the bump ‘n’ grind drums of the final track begin their first cycle, you realise what blawan’s overriding strength is: programming loose riding, rough edged and raw loops and working around the jilted but hypnotic rhythms to which they give rise. the one throughout ‘lavender’ is clipped and punchy and has only various flurries of acid rain to contend with but, even when stripped so bare and simple, can’t go on long enough. nevermind blawan, try badman!