Sonder Somatic

Album review

The great collider is still smashing away beneath Bristol. Ever since dubstep returned to the underground and a portion of its leading lights headed off to make techno in Berlin, a handful of producers have been experimenting with breakbeats, techno kicks, infra-bass and other glitchcraft. Pev, Kowton and Hodge quickly made their way to the studio alongside Pearson Sound and Larry McCarthy aka Bruce in 2014. They signed with local experts Hemlock Recordings, Livity Sound and Hessle Audio, who have released this latest album.

On Sonder Somatic, Bruce works with those parts of the sonic spectrum that other artists don't dare to touch, creating atypical tracks using an extra-broad range of frequencies, like on Baychimo with its unearthly intro that sounds like you're in the antechamber of a party. Ore includes little nostalgic references to Croydon in 2006-2008 whilst Patience St Pim, with its broken snare, is surely a highlight of the record. But Bruce also seems to be interested in dancefloor pieces, and when he decides to kick out in that direction, he sends us flying into industrial rave territory, as on What, where you can almost hear the warehouse roof shaking. Here's a record to prove that the English scene isn't short on good ideas. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz