- It’s hard to tell if Redshape intended ‘Plonk’ to reference the once notorious, but now excellent, German white wines and their effects, or if it is an onomatopoeic dig at the sound of minimal. In any case, the delicacies of the minimal palette are blown apart right out of the gate with a dirty, muffled bass and watery, inebriated-sounding sirens that never quite resolve into something more clear. ‘Plonk’ is then something of a departure for Redshape – it’s dirtiness and viscosity are not typical of him, even though his signature kaleidoscopic bending eventually unfolds above the mire. It’s danceable, but equally avant garde, and listening to it is like floating happily in muddy water.
‘8’ which closes the first side is beatless and somewhat incidental. The trilling echoes and engine-throb bass hark back to the retro outer space synths of his earlier singles, but it does not add much to the EP. The first side is something of an experiment then, but the most typical Redshape, and the best track, is saved for last.
The dub version of ‘Plonk’ on the second side actually seems less the dub version than the original, being more clearly produced as if by someone drugged and delirious rather than drunk. The repetition of the synths is purely hypnotic and immense enough to carve out enough territory for the rest of the sound to flood into. Overall, there is a ton of weight in the bass and a driving 4/4 to this that begs for a good sound system.
This release is fairly out on a limb for Redshape, but absolutely killer nonetheless.
Tracklist01 Plonk (original)
02 8
03 Plonk (dub)