- We know very little about Bristol's Rhythmic Theory outside of a few facts. He's an old jungle head who's been part of his local scene since the late '90s, and he makes techno informed by that background. Like so much of what comes out of Bristol, Rhythmic Theory's music is spawned from and is made for soundsystems—bass is key. But his moods and melodies are just as important, no matter the style or BPM. This has all taken the form of sub-heavy techno on Idle Hands, acid and electro for Happy Skull, icy ambient on Ancient Monarchy and even breaks for Blackest Ever Black's A14. And all throughout the catalog, airbrushed atmospherics and other daubs of bygone junglism have made tunes like "Shores Of Caladan" stand out.
Rhythmic Theory has specialized in stirring dance floor riddims, but on Circulation he shelves that approach in favour of more listenable compositions. Mood and melody are now at the forefront, which hits a heart-tugging peak on "Waldrons Lament." It swoops in on tender strings, a soft-grumbling pulse and what sounds like the wispy fragments of a siren, soon bringing in morose chords, a sad sax and more ethereal strings. It's quite beautiful, as is "Interlude," a serene and woozy wash of synth with the sparest amount of percussion.
At the other end of things is the aptly titled "Creeper," crawling on its belly through murky dub textures. Of everything on Circulation, this track sounds the most fully grounded in Bristol. There are swirling, oppressive atmospheres and the paranoia of too much weed smoke. Its minimal, broken percussion plugs into the city's dubstep legacy, but this isn't a head-nodder, nor is it all about bass. In essence, Circulation is a headphone album, which has been clearly crafted with a bigger picture in mind. If there's a fault in that, it's that Rhythmic Theory has downplayed some of his strengths in pursuit of a subtler sound. But Circulation doesn't have to pummel to leave a mark.
Tracklist01. Intro To My Imagination
02. Longevity
03. Waldrons Lament
04. Interlude
05. Creeper
06. Work Of Fiction
07. End (Of Forever)