After the sublime EP from label owner Thomas Skjærstad and his studio partner Dolbah on SVRSR008 the next edition takes a grittier direction. Minimal hot shot RQZ is next up to provide the magical moments and he is turning in more and more with each release that comes out.
Having popped up last on these pages via Scottish label Afterhours RQZ has crafted a percussive laden sound that has a sweet ebb and flow to it and three track EP for Sous Vide Records is a great addition to his growing discography.
Picking up on track two ‘Montage’ and RQZ is firmly in minimal mode. Sparse vocal snips nip in and out of the swinging drum arrangement. Whirrs and zaps bounce around the noisy bumping bassline that underpins ‘Montage’ and the result is nicely swaggering track that in its original form. It’s not until a third of the way through that the track really starts to unfold. Paddy synths seep into the mix and soon begin to bloom into a more sublime picture.
Heading back to the top of the release and ‘OST Saga’ the brooding bassline gives just the right amount of bounce to propel the track onwards. As reduced and sparse as it is ‘OST Saga’ has an addictive quality to it. The quality of the production is really impressive and the arching pads help to flip the mood from dark to hopeful but a return to a more heads down groove is inevitable with the disappearance of the tracks’ musical elements.
Completing the EP is Italian artists Estmode and their take on ‘Montage’ follows a jazzier interpretation. The singing synths and pitch black basslines that interject throughout the remix offer a classicaly abstract sound palette. Soemthing that Estmode are well known for and when the breakdown allows for a looser interpretation of the assembled parts the reintroduction of the drums snaps the track back to focus.
SVRSR009 from RQZ is now available via Bandcamp.
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