out now: Irakli | Stanislav Tolkachev – Inkblots#4 [Inkblots]

Artist:
Irakli | Stanislav Tolkachev

Title:
Inkblots#4

Label:
Inkblots

Cat#:
INK004

Release Date:
19th October 2018

Format:
12″ & digital

Tracklist:
A1.
Irakli
34 Choices Of Gender

A2.
Irakli
Topological Errors

B1.
Stanislav Tolkachev
Taste Of Ink

B2.
Stanislav Tolkachev
Equally Different

Press Info:
Life is complex and since the only way out is through, complexity demands be embraced. As a label dedicated to bringing two unique minds together for each record, Inkblots has always aimed at uniting kindred spirits by making their differences audible.

With two contributions each by Berlin’s Irakli and Stanislav Tolkachev, the fourth instalment of Haiku’s imprint makes no exception. Instead, it might be its most exceptional offering yet. Just like the principle of the Rorschach test at the conceptual core of the label, the musical perspectives offered on »Inkblots 004« are minimalistic at their base but open up a pathway into two complex musical minds.

Irakli’s »34 Choices Of Gender« draws on an abrasive experimentalism that is contrasted with a heavy kick drum, making the former I/Y member’s first proper solo offering a perfect compromise between his sound art-orientated productions and his knack for intricate yet joyous techno. Between the piercing high frequencies and the warm bass sounds, the STAUB resident gives space to a singular and futuristic idea of techno that is as life-affirming as it is dancefloor-ready. »Topological Errors« further elaborates on this vision, putting more emphasis on the groove that arises out of interlocking sound events. It’s as if the first and the second wave of Detroit techno had found a home on the Berlin dancefloors again – finally united, this time around.

While Irakli explores the sonic richness of sound, the Ukrainian producer Stanislav Tolkachev dedicates himself to the lysergic qualities of rhythmic structures. »Taste Of Ink« is a bubbling piece of synthesizer minimalism that lets its manifold elements tumble freely through space. It’s a piece of vertical techno, more interested in creating intensities along the way than following the narratives we’ve all heard over and over again. »Equally Different« expresses an approach that is, well, equally different indeed: the nervous clicking of a closed hi-hat and a thumping kick provide just enough of a framework for the penetrating bleeps floating over them not escalate into total chaos. It’s a stunning track that seems to accelerate or slow down deliberately while remaining hyper-focused throughout. Order and disorder, presenting themselves as two sides of the same coin.

Tolkachev and Irakli meet each other on this Inkblots issue with two of the most outstanding perspectives on contemporary techno. Along a minimalistic matrix, they both make clear that the story of techno has not been fully told yet, offering a complexity that demands to be embraced.

Listen: