Redshape - Alone on Mars?

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  • I’d never heard of the enigmatic Redshape until the nice man at the store played me this, his latest 12” on his own label Present. It’s not one to forget easily. Immediately captivating and enigmatic, you can play it either slow or pitched up for different effects. This is particularly true for the A-side ‘Alone on Mars?’ which forces its way in slowly with heavy waves of sci-fi synths and undulating bubbles of bass pulses. Its either ambient or pulsating and has a retro space feel that conjures up alien life forms, bulky spaceships and crimson skies cut with apocalyptic dawns. There’s no need for tractor beams to pull you in: the track inverts around the percussion and propels itself high up somewhere along the expressway from Detroit to Berlin. Outstanding. The B-side ‘Species’ continues the space theme and works better faster. The percussive propulsion transforms slowly for a less dreamy and not quite-fluid feel although it is underpinned again by mysterious and watery retro atmospherics. Coloured vinyl only adds to the pleasure!
  • Tracklist
      A Alone On Mars? B Species
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