- Dale Cornish has described his past releases for Entr'acte as exploring "a/rhythm, space, silence and pulse." This approach, continued on last year's Clap for Where To Now?, may sound familiar. Inspired by the likes of Mark Fell, young computer music enthusiasts have spent the last few years doing something similar. Cornish, who has been active for over a decade, goes further than most in removing comfort and convention from synth and percussion loops. The effect is powerful, if not always pleasant on the ears. His EP for Rabit's Halcyon Veil deploys that uncomfortable power for a particular purpose.
The agenda is set by opener "Status 2016," in which a slurred, downpitched voice repeats, "In 2016 it is illegal to be gay in approximately 75 nations and regions around the world." The flat, robotic voice and the vacant synthetic drone behind it seem void of emotion, which makes the message grimmer. Voices elsewhere on the EP are harder to decipher. On "Infix," we get the phrase "looking out the window" uttered apathetically over sour metallic percussion and slow drums. On the closer, "Emperor Ali," Cornish tells us something about Imperial China, though it's half-lost in a nightmare of burbling voices and meandering kicks and claps.
The lack of further explanation suggests Cornish wants our minds fixed on his bleak opening message. (Maybe "Status 2016" is to 21st century homophobia what Babyfather's "Stealth Intro"—the looped phrase of "This makes me proud to be British"—was to nationalism in the UK.) Tracks like "LW" and "Vauxhall," ultra-sparse constructs of unadorned drum hits, lock you in their cold, unflinching gaze. Only "Cut," with its bolder melody and grime-like rhythm, makes concessions to musical convention.
TracklistA1 Status 2016
A2 Cut
A3 LW
B1 Infix
B2 Vauxhall
B3 Emperor Ali