- Bavarian producer Recondite's return to Hotflush has an expansive, eerie feel that likely found particular favour with label boss Paul Rose, given the similar moods of his recent Phenix EPs as Scuba. As is normally the case with Recondite, both tracks on Caldera unfold slowly and deliberately—they're pulsing exercises in delayed gratification that have all the more impact when they finally hit top gear.
The title track glimmers for several minutes before finally revealing its central feature: a squelchy shard of synth that waxes and wanes against the track's background of muted kicks and grainy machine-sighs. "DRGN 2" goes a little harder while retaining that trademark restraint and attention to detail. A sequel piece to 2012's "DRGN," it picks up where that dark, gently shuddering masterwork left off. An expressionless synth clank looms over more dusty background atmospheres. The keys feel like they'll be the track's defining feature until they too are overwhelmed by huge, infectious bass. I've seen the word "opulence" used a few times in reference to Recondite's work, and this release fits that description perfectly. Both tracks are grandly bleak and exhilarating in their own mysterious, exquisitely constructed ways.
TracklistA1 Caldera
B1 DRGN2