- GIL, AKA Gil Schneider, may be Swiss but the Berlin-based artist references a global club scene brought together through the internet. The sonic signifiers include electronic shrieks and squeals, shattering glass, jackhammer beats and distorted "Ha Dance" samples—confrontational, attention-grabbing stuff. The music also draws on rhythms from African diasporic or Latin communities, keeping it aimed at the dance floor.
Schneider's arts education is said to include theory, modern dance and composition, and the latter comes through most vividly on Orchids & Wasps. The EP's three original tracks feel purposeful and polished, arranged precisely in dynamics and movement. As much as they may inspire dancing, these aren't simply tracks. They feel more complex and involved in succession, going deeper into a journey that's more K-hole than rabbit hole.
The EP begins innocently enough: "Bruxism"'s birdsong and "Many"'s insectoid buzzing and children singing. But by the third track, "Onset," an epic journey of confusion, the darkness is more pervasive, although no less compelling. Remixes by J.G. Biberkopf and NAAFI's Imaabs, both of "Onset," don't really bring anything new to the mix. That's how well Schneider did on his own.
TracklistA1 Bruxism
A2 Many
B1 Onset
B2 Onset (J.G. Biberkopf Remix)
B3 Onset (Imaabs Remix)