- low income $quad is a DIY cassette label from Croatia. The crew is into the fringes of electronic music, from the lo-fi to the subversive and the downright weird. It's all done on a budget, too, hence the name. The dodgy pixilated graphics that accompany each release set a fitting tone. Since late 2015, low income $quad has been curating compilations featuring artists like Drvg Cvltvre, Kareem, Machine Woman, Steve Summers, Octo Octa, Pan Daijing and Seixlack alongside many less familiar names. Its sixth release is full of dark and aggy techno from Bristol (Inca Pax), São Paulo (thingamajicks) and Montreal (URA).
Inca Pax's "Transoxian Conjecture" is lo-fi, subversive and weird in one, which makes it a great introduction to the label. There are lots of strange machine noises, set to a furious marching pace, to decipher. "Vehicular Incidents" sounds beaten up, as though it's shedding parts as it limps along. The interminable thrum of URA's "Three Knee" sums up low income $quad's ethos best, while "Derpu-WR" is a scraping basement acid track that would go down well at a squat party. thingamajicks' two tracks are winding machine jams with a greater emphasis on mood and atmosphere.
TracklistA1 Inca Pax - Transoxian Conjecture
A2 Inca Pax - Vehicular Incidents
A3 thingamajicks - Bugs Plague
B1 thingamajicks - 1610
B2 Ura -Three Knee
B3 Ura - Derpu-WR