- Hybrid club music on Warp's exciting sub-label.
- Bone Head is the newest solo project by the Southern Californian producer Joe Cocherell. He's a member of so-called "gothic western" duo DVA Damas, who you're likely to see on lineups with post-industrial bands like Tropic Of Cancer and HTRK. There was a moment when Cocherell tried his hand at more straight-up techno with releases on Frozen Border in 2011 and 2012, but nothing has been as unique as Bone Head. The music and the conceptual basis behind the project's first EP, Soft Power, trades in opposites. It draws on a range of influences—grime, dubstep, techno, EDM, trance, pop—and touches on the masculine-feminine dynamics of being a gay man making electronic music. "It's this kind of feminine/masculine back-and-forth," he told The Wire about how his sound comes from this tension between hard and soft. "[It's] like a really tough guy but he's hurt or injured."
Bone Head is the result of a self-started musical education, via YouTube videos and cracked production software. "Busy Body" is a strong opener, where a clipped vocal repeating "body" plays out over syncopated, footwork-style beats. "Peace Keeper" leans hard on a shattered assemblage of choral patches, while the title track's breathless clicks and clacks recoil from its distorted square bass. You could compare Bone Head's sound to other hybrid club styles explored by the likes of Fade To Mind, Night Slugs and PC Music, but Soft Power toes the line between serious production and a pop sensibility with more stealth.
TracklistA1 Busy Body
A2 Virtua
B1 Soft Power
B2 Peace Keeper