- Haunting techno unearthed as part of an obscure cassette reissue.
- "Cohors Helvetica" catches Vatican Shadow and Demdike Stare in their formative periods. Made in Los Angeles in 2012, just ahead of the first-ever Vatican Shadow live set, it was recently unearthed as part of an expanded reissue of an obscure cassette called Kuwaiti Airforce. It sounds unlike anything in either artist's catalogues: the mood is familiar, but the sound is different.
Built around a stark piano figure buffeted by gong hits and a lilting vocal, "Cohors Helvetica" recalls the earliest days of Demdike Stare, where you couldn't tell what was sampled and what was original. It feels barebones and technoid, the piano a diversion from Vatican Shadow's usual brassy synth textures. Adrift and uncertain, it's music made in a city alien to its creators, alluring enough to make you wish their time in LA together lasted longer.
Tracklist01. Cohors Helvetica