Jurango - Retreat Ites

  • Stripped-back Bristol beat science.
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  • Over the last year or so, Livity Sound pushed outside its comfort zone with releases from Azu Tiwaline, DJ Plead, Surgeons Girl and Roska, all of whom coloured outside the lines of the broken techno sound the Bristol label helped establish. Bristol's Jurango is the latest, landing on the Dnuos Ytivil sub-label, though he doesn't alter the Livity style so much as reverse-engineer it, with an EP of rhythms as spartan as they are refined. Jurango's tracks are extremely stripped-down, which only emphasizes their unusual contours and textures. "Theeves" is the obvious highlight, its thrust and bounce sounding like a dancehall-inspired take on Peverelist and Kowton's classic "Raw Code." The slower "Compassed" has exquisite tuned percussion that sounds sculpted out of steel. As it spirals, the high tones of "This Better Worth" rise to an uncomfortable frequency you'll feel right in your sinuses. Maybe the most exciting bit of beat science on Retreat Ites is the title track, whose lopsided drum loops feel like the moment you go upside-down on a rollercoaster. Jurango's knack for sound design and economy of composition speaks for itself. He uses the blank-faced, no-bullshit sound palette of Livity Sound's earliest releases and brings them to funkier new places.
  • Tracklist
      01. Retreat Ites 02. This Better Worth 03. Theeves 04. Compassed
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