- UNKNOT is a new project by two Italian producers, Sciahri and Emanuele Porcinai, whose respective approaches to dance music appear to differ considerably. Sciahri's output, which so far consists of a single EP on Ilian Tape, is propulsive, greyscale techno with shades of rave and dub applied in light, crosshatched strokes. Porcinai is a producer and sound engineer who specialises in electroacoustic composition. His approach seems to drive UNKNOT01, whose scratchy sound and constant electrical hum is to the ears what a hair shirt is to soft skin.
The EP may be a little uncomfortable at first, but its textures are easy to appreciate once you wear them in. "Modem," one of two more experimental tracks, is thick with static and AM radio crackle. Its drums are bulky and mimic a techno frame, but there's something off about them—they sound as if they're being played backwards, which gives the track a strange momentum. "Mutuality (Part 1)" has a less ambiguous tone. Its ambient sounds, which warp as glass might under severe heat, evoke a space-horror OST. This spectral atmosphere is even more intense on "Mutuality (Part II)," a beatless version of its predecessor. Like "Magha," it's dance floor material for jet-black moods, although "Magha" feels more emboldened than its anxiety-inducing neighbour: its solemn horn is coated by a layer of scabrous sounds, which scrunch as the synth at the track's centre begins to catch the light.
TracklistA1 Modem
A2 Mutuality (Part I)
B1 Magha
B2 Mutuality (Part II)