- Given the dizzying array of guests that have graced the various booths of The Bunker over its decade-long history, it was never obvious what sort of label this New York event might spawn. Fittingly, Bryan Kasenic and co appear to be keeping their eggs in many baskets—the debut release from The Bunker New York cherry picks from a few different styles. Its creator, Leisure Muffin, is Bunker regular and modular synth buff Michael Hopkins. Hopkins has been performing live electronic sets since the mid '90s—sometimes in collaboration with veteran synth improviser (and recent subject of a Morphine retrospective) Charles Cohen—but this is his first studio release. As with many a modular obsessive, Hopkins' instrument defines his output more than an allegiance to any one genre.
It forms the arpeggiating backbone of "In Wearable Hertz," inviting comparisons to kosmische pioneers like Klaus Schulze or Cluster—though that grandiosity is tempered by a cuddly quality, particularly in the track's wonderfully redemptive conclusion. The modular is also, we assume, responsible for the cavernous dub chords in "Heldscalla," a glossy peaktime techno number that just can't sit still. The slighter "Alys" might be an attempt to unify these two worlds—the arps are tart and full of character, the techno pulse is boisterous. In each case Hopkins skips lightly through his ideas, and at points you wonder if a deeper exploration of a specific style might yield something more distinct. Still, Hopkins' easy charm is difficult to resist.
TracklistA In Wearable Hertz feat. Elizabeth Warren
B1 Heldscalla
B2 Alys