- "I get so excited the night before the first day of studio," Randomer recently tweeted of his weekly routine. "I can hardly sleep. It's like being a kid before Xmas". You can hear the excitement in his output, a vigorous stream of no-frills bangers that tinker with techno form while leaving function intact. The Londoner's latest EP circles back to a few of the sounds and techniques that make his music distinctive. It's less focussed on melody than his previous record for Dekmantel's UFO sub-label, instead echoing Kids Play (for L.I.E.S.) and his Hodge collaborations, marshalling a pan-global ensemble of shakers, hand percussion, metallophones and sour strings into unruly techno grooves.
That's the A-side, at least, both razor sharp tools in this inimitable style. "Van Pelt," featuring "a percussive instrument traditionally played in Myanmar," rolls out smoothly. "Shadow Harp" is harder, a brick wall of saturated kicks and rattling percussion. On the B-side, drum details sink deeper into more atmospheric arrangements. "Dissolve," led by a noxious lead line and reverb-swathed voices, plods a bit. "Slicing" does linear better. The star is the ear-catching one-note hook, which buzzes and cuts strangely around an irresistible syncopated kick. Throw in a rock solid arrangement and you've got yourself a highly playable club banger with a leftfield twist. In other words, what Randomer does best.
TracklistA1 Van Pelt
A2 Shadow Harp
B1 Dissolve
B2 Slicing