I find myself often skeptical of progressive presenting rhythmic electronic music. Generally if I’m going to dip my toes into stuff that Simon Reynold (slight groan) or Mark Fisher (RIP) would’ve blogged into social theory, I’d definitely side step what at my most cynical I’d read as self appointed cutting edge post-grad arts professional music and prioritise the organically weird regional-folk-music-gone-organically-avant i.e. Footwork.
Thankfully I have a musical ‘in’ with gi, via the trusty institution of Altered States Tapes and gi being Gigi De Lacy of local Saccharine Trust style art punk group Optic Nerve. I’ve been saying it’s time for the punk-adjacent-solo-electronic-projects to make a comeback, and here we have it with a new level of depth and zest.
While there aren’t any typical signifiers of ex-punk-techno here, the tortured relationship with the term “Intelligent Dance Music” aligns with a positive analytical tradition of the punk skeptic. There’s a menacing and tense atmosphere in these pieces (as opposed to trax) but not in a cartoonish, mean muggin’ in a hoodie kinda way.
Within these fast electronic music compositions there’s a rigid complexity but also an always evolving sense of freedom. It feels as if the sounds are sculpted out of raw waves and noise sources, (plus some manipulated environmental sounds), via filtering and modulation, i.e. synthesis, to create character filled sounds that don’t conform to the typical percussion/melody spaces and roles of dance music production.
I can’t think of a hell of a lot of music similar to gi that I’ve had a similarly good, escapist time with, but two that came to mind are Christoph De Babalon and Interactive Music/Atom™. I’m sure that’s a fine endorsement to a handful of people reading? - Nic