out now: Eomac - Spectre [Killekill Records]

Artist:
Eomac

Title:
Spectre

Label:
Killekill

Cat#:
KILLEKILL018

Release Date:
12th May 2014 (vinyl)
19th May 2014 (digital)

Format:
LP & digital

Tracklist:
A1)
Su Riddim

A2)
Rainmaker

A3)
Forest

B1)
Spectre

B2)
Shell Of Dark

C1)
Deeva

C2)
Rising 3

C3)
You Hun Ye Gui

D1)
Crackts

D2)
Mika Riddim

D3)
Squink

Press Info:
Killekill is proud to present EOMAC’s “Spectre”, the debut album from Dublin-based producer Ian McDonnell, a rising star in the techno scene. Spectre also marks the label’s first full-length album release.

Ian is better-known as half of the Irish duo Lakker and this album is certainly carved from the same cold slab of stone. His music has already gained huge support from the likes of Tommy Four Seven, Ellen Allien, Thom Yorke and the one and only Aphex Twin himself.

Bleepy, slo-mo synth lines, dense textures, saturated bassdrums and hand-sliced vocals dunked in cavernous reverb – Spectre is all about EOMAC doing what he does best, taking our concepts of club sound and contorting them into something that is truly his own.

The melodies are slo-mo and lo-fi, the pads, exquisitely lush and textured. Ian’s amazing sound-design (bordering on the intense in some places) and incredible attention to detail makes this an album where each listen reveals a deeper layer. Spatters of noise, shards of broken beat and relentlessly pounding techno rhythms also make it a dancefloor-decimating weapon.

SU Riddim – The album kicks off with a kind of twisted grime track. This is exactly the kind of thing that Eomac excels at – taking your conceptions of an existing club sound and contorting it, in doing so making it entirely his own. His trademark dissonant pads are present alongside short radio snippets, dusty drums and a general tense vibe – a nice opener.

Rainmaker – Next up is Rainmaker, a slow, mechanical techno number. Sparse granular textures mimic rain fall, giving the track its title. Eomac’s minimal, slowly evolving sequences are becoming something of a trademark and this track is no exception. A lo-fi melody is gradually introduced, sounding as though it was played down the distant end of a cavernous tunnel to the listener.

Forest – Forest is instantly more playful than the previous two tracks. A bleepy melody, pulsing sub-bass and broken-beat rhythm give an almost childish feel to the track. Coupled with dusty, wooden percussion and forest floor reverb, Forest gives the listener a brief sense of respite from the industrial pummelling.

Spectre – The title track reverts to Eomac’s slow-chugging techno format. A haunting melody is gradually revealed as the track builds up and up into an epic warehouse anthem. Expect to hear Spectre rattling a dark, sweaty basement near you very soon.

Rising 3 – Rising 3 kicks straight into chopped breakbeats, reminiscent of both the 90s rave era and the early garage sound. Again, this is Eomac masterfully twisting and re-inventing classic electronics into his sound. The melody is playful, a gentle nod back to the third track on the album, Forest. The plonky synthesised wind instruments are a recurring theme in Spectre. Gradually, the beats become more and more hectic as Eomac dials up the distortion and the crowd start to lose their minds.

Shell of Dark – If Spectre was the deep anthem of the album, Shell of Dark is the techno stomper. Eomac cleverly uses short, modulated delays to create a phasing effect on the beats and melodies, yet locks the head and feet firmly in place with a pounding distorted kick drum. A delayed lo-fi lead pans overhead before the entire arrangement descends into distorted chaos.

Deeva – Deeva steps up next, yet another example of Eomac toying with a popular club style, this time completely transforming house music. All the elements are there, the filtered house bass, the grooving 4/4 beat, the vocal stabs, yet this is a house track like you’ve never ever heard, topped off with a playful bleepy melody that sounds like a nursery rhyme gone wrong.

You Hun Ye Gui* – Yóu Hún Ye Gui is a spirit taken from Chinese folklore, generally meant to signify the trapped spirit of someone who died alone, far away from home. This deep, broody number seems to pay heed to their tortured soul. Tight, short delays create a very tense, otherworldly vibe, while synthesised wind instruments and filtered-down arp lines convey a deep sense of forlonging, pain and abandonment…

Crackts – Keeping it trippy, Crackts rolls in next. Eomac once again uses short repetitive elements and slightly out-of-time delays to both entrance the listener and to build the tension up and up and up. Combined with dissonant pads that sound like submerged alarm sirens and a relentlessly pounding bass drum, this track is set to be another absolute techno banger.

Mika Riddim – The second last track winds things down a bit. Mika Riddim (as the name suggests) is somewhat of a cross between modern bassline music and the vacuum tube shreddings of Mika Vainio. Tastefully done!

Squink – The outro track, Squink is a particularly strange one. Seemingly detuning over time, this slow deep techno number brings things tastefully to a close with tripped out delays, lush pads, and ever-shifting textures.

(words by Simon Hayes)

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About Killekill:

KILLEKILL is a Berlin based record label and a crew promoting music events since 2008. The events at Berghain Kantine, Suicide Circus and Horst Krzbrg are focussing techno, house and electro – often with an experimental twist. A wide range of artists such as ABE DUQUE, SANDWELL DISTRICT, TIM EXILE, OTTO VON SCHIRACH, CRISTIAN VOGEL and many, many more have played for KILLEKILL nights.

The KILLEKILL label is being approached the same way as the events: challenging music of daring artists – with a focus on techno, house and electro but with an open ear for sounds off the beaten track. Releasing artists so far have been ALEX CORTEX, BAD COP BAD COP, BILL YOUNGMAN, SNUFF CREW, NEIL LANDSTRUMM and CASSEGRAIN & TIN MAN.

Listen:
“Spectre”

more soon