It is rare for a new imprint to be solely dedicated to presenting long players from their chosen artist, but that is exactly the tact that Occult Vision Recordings has taken with their new venture. While the music may be electronic in nature, there is most definitely a story to be told across the full run time of each release. For their debut release, they have enlisted one of Frankfurt’s greatest exports – Frank Heinrich aka Reboot.
We begin our deep dive into this landmark release with the title track “On A Grind” and while Reboot is in sizzling stripped-back form, this, like the whole EP is a wholly introspective affair. The main groove makes full use of Reboot’s knack for reductionist funk, and the bubbling bassline and waning synth line are subtly enhanced by the most delicate of atmospheric touches. Completing side B is “Tombant Jazz” and while this is perhaps the more minimal leaning track from the album there is much more to this than the shuffled glitchy rhythms that lead out the track. Forlorn stretched-out synths seek out the horizon and in doing so come across a myriad of bleeps and beeps that converge to create a lofi symphony that is punctuated with dusty horn licks.
Flipping over to side A and we discover the first tracks on the LP, first of all, “Savas” takes center stage to set the scene for the remainder of the album. Harking back to a prime Reboot circa his earlier Cadenza period, the looped groove is affected quite impressively by the seemingly random bassline that dances around the timely beats. The beauty of the track is still to be revealed by the latter arrival of the stunning Rhodes piano licks. “Sweat” completed this first side of the album with a deeper journey towards the inner sanctum of the LP and with the expert use of sporadic vocals and inventive use of delays and echos Reboot builds a hypnotic soundscape with ease.
Hitting the midpoint in the album and Reboot changes things up very nicely with “Get The Clock” and taking a decidedly deep house route, he turns in perhaps one of the grooves of the release. Stripped to its bare elements, the roomy kicks and compressed bassline combine to provide unimaginable energy that we see easily transferring to the dancefloor. Next up is “Outwork” and this could be described as a track with two heads. First of all, the intro is very subdued with off-beat bass tones, delayed claps and an airy pad that snakes through the first part of the track. For much of the run time, this is where “Outwork” sits and lets its beauty unfurl, it is not until just past the halfway mark that an unexpected acid line filters into view and once it is fully revealed the madness of the 303 subsides back into the shadows.
Flipping over to the final side of the LP and “Lucky 1” paints a disjointed picture in the beginning, with jumbled blocks of sound and a looped vocal this is put into perspective by a crisp groove straight out of the Reboot playbook but updated for the demands of the modern listener. Given plenty of room to breathe, the groove soon breaks down to reveal a female monologue that speaks directly to the COVID era point in time where much of the tracks on this album were created.
This final track on the album is a sizeable curveball as “561” elevates the BPM considerably in a sublime percussive swan song. Utilising electric guitar riffs, dubby vocals, raspy synths and a level of tension seldom found in top-quality electronic music of late. As you might expect from a Reboot body of work the production values are impressive from the first to the last beat. Whether you aim to play this album from start to finish or utilise the album track by track there is plenty to get your teeth into here.
You can pre-order the “On A Grind” LP by Reboot from Phonica and Deejay.de now.
More info on Reboot
Instagram | Facebook | RA | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | Discogs
More info on Occult Vision Recordings
Instagram
More info on Pickled Music
Instagram | Soundcloud | Bandcamp
