- When patten's GLAQJO XAACSSO landed back in 2011, its dense sprawl worked for and against it. It sounded as though the London producer was trying to cram five different songs into every three-minute chunk. For some people it was a classic case of throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck; for others it was simply a classic. Now the much-hyped producer has signed to Warp for a new album, and EOLIAN INSTATE is a preview.
Not much has changed in patten's world, except the song structures have somehow become more obtuse. There's a new emphasis on Actress style bit-crushed sounds, like the paper-thin drum track that moves between the gauzy shimmer of "Towards Infinite Shores." "Aviary" is a cheery number loaded with chiming melodies and what could be guitars, while "Obsidian Alms" seems like it's trying to establish a techno pulse, but the revving hi-hats and snares buzz around the stereo spectrum like flies. Neither has any traditional hook or rhythmic foundation.
On the contrary, "oea/Catalogue" hints at the electronic funk of LuckyMe, with its big drums and catchy bassline, which prove there are hooks in patten's repertoire. Winding things down, "Sixth Seven" is a tranquil drift pockmarked by ticking snares. It's utterly abstract, yet there's a profound emotion at the heart of it that's central to patten's music. He's never been harder to understand than on EOLIAN INSTATE, but he has a way of wringing feelings from the strangest material.
TracklistA1 Aviary
A2 Towards Infinite Shores
B1 Oea/catalogue
B2 Obsidian Alms (Mid-Saccade)
B3 Sixth Seven