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Higeki

ll nøthing ll

EP
Electronic

Liam Murphy

September 5, 2019

Tracks in this feature

Tracks in this release

疼痛 starts ll nøthing ll’s EP with a warm, welcoming tone. The sounds conjure images of smouldering skylines. A loop…

疼痛 starts ll nøthing ll’s EP with a warm, welcoming tone. The sounds conjure images of smouldering skylines. A loop reverberates, heavy-set and hemmed into the mid to low frequencies. A trumpet slices through the cloudy sound. A shaker accentuates the rhythm introduced by the sample and the rest of the percussion follows suit, creating a simplistic and effective drum line. ll nøthing ll plays with layers to great effect. Certain piano strikes above the murky noise indicate to us the sounds to cling on to as we enter. We follow them, spurned on by the initial sample which is now a warm buffer to proceedings. The trumpet continues to peak out over the skyline like a plane penetrating the clouds ever so slightly. The drums breakdown and gurgled samples find their way through to us. The timing is impeccable, as ll nøthing ll counterpoints the warmth of repetition with the engaging factor of care and intricacy.

The hissing of a cymbal in reverse heralds the start of 損失, bringing with it dulled keys. Slowly, the drum beat finds its place chattering hi-hats rise and fall, a solitary trumpet permeates through a thick, wavering landscape. Certain percussive elements spray and dissipate with a lasting sibilance. A prominent melancholia fills the track. The beautiful keys that signal the progression of the loop fit seamlessly behind the smouldering brass melody. The drum sequence is faultless, holding steady throughout until the sad sounds rescind.

The use of sampling in 神聖 is incredibly moving from the outset. The sound plays, swallowed momentarily as the frequency range decreases, only to find its way back to clarity just before the whole melodic element is dashed by a cascading sample and a stunted and conclusive note. A tranquil motif tumbles gracefully down towards the foreground. ll nøthing ll picks us up eagerly with a scratchy drum loop, each snare rolling perfectly, the hi-hats exquisitely stretched and auctioned. A breathy voice reaches to us through the instrumentation, it too is swept up in the uncontrollably infectious rhythm. A guitar jabs through now and again, sliding in with yet more texture and poise. The track plods along effortlessly. 

desert sand feels warm at night presents a hypnagogic reimagining in a remix of 疼痛. A sense of place is instantly apparent in the chorused reverb employed. The sample is just a bit out of our reach, echoing solemnly in an enclosed, endless gloom. The progression of the remix is heavy-set, the track slowly lifting off the ground as the melody flies solo. But, the percussion reappears almost at a whisper.

Bakhman’s UKG edit feeds the slow, lumbering sample of the original through the slick, perspex gauze of the British-based garage movement. A beautiful, crisp snare claps. The percussion disappears down a dark cavern, only to come back up with a sporadic bass/melody line that is unabashedly rhythmic. The whole track floats effervescently. Breaks streaming from it as it plots a course across a darkening skyline. A string line holds steady as instruments and percussion buzz and click around it. Slowly the track fades out. 

Tupperwave shows the listener just how malleable and up for interpretation source material is with an imaginative remix. The percussive elements he employs almost wipe out the melody line, but it rises up in the small gaps between drum hits. The whispering of the original swirls around our heads as we journey. The texture is rough, allowing the listener to venture into every crevice and hole. The hi hats smash in the foreground of the track, driving it onwards.

The S\/\/4Nk H3LL remixed coda brings a crisp, calculated beat to the washed out sample of ( ). Every sample actioned results in a laser-esque sound. This remix keeps the focus very much on the beauty of its stimulus. Letting the sample ride a different rhythm, reinventing and recontextualising successfully. 

Listen via Houdini Mansions here: https://houdinimansions.bandcamp.com/album/higeki