Bedouin is a vinyl only imprint based in the desert, where each weighty 180 gram plate is slipped into an aesthetically beautiful black and white sleeve. It’s a treat for not just music lovers and audiophiles, but DJ’s who are looking for some pleasurable control. It’s without doubt that a lot of love goes into these records, and the limited 300 presses are welcomed in this case as simply put, none of these should go to waste.
The label kicks off 2015 by calling up on one of 2014s standout artists Ekman. After the success that was Dez Williams ‘Strength In Numbers’ EP, which came out at the end of last year, hype has surrounded the label as punters are forced to wait in anticipation for their next slice of Bedouin goodness, the ‘Gödelian Argument’ EP.
The whole release is dripping with unfathomable uses of acid, something Ekman has made a name for himself doing in his short career. This is among some of his darkest work though. ‘Quantative Matter and Motion’ opens with a pulsating grazing of low-key oscillations, which grow more volatile as the track goes on. Hints of gleaming pads heroically try to shine through but are hopelessly engulfed by something much more sinister. The boundaries of noise and techno are really pushed here. The two elements are balanced evenly resulting in carnivorous industrial flavours that immediately push the EP off to ridiculously high expectations; luckily the rest of it handles these expectations well.
The next four are more club orientated. In ‘Implausible Inconsistency System’ rhythmic and frantic percussions slam fiercely on a satanic acid riff as the record literally begins wailing as if it’s in pain. ‘I am Not A Turning Machine You Are’ does everything that it says on the tin, it’s a Night Slugs style drum track that sees it’s rigid and mechanic movements drenched in Ekman’s ugly alterations. More wails are heard here, this time it’s more like a broken train horn being desperately pulled as the bolts on the tracks beneath begin to flicker and shake. This broken theme is taken to the next level in ‘The Consciousness Of An Anthropic Mechanism”. The record tumbles over itself, jolting relentlessly before releasing a chilling stinger of a synth that completely cuts through.
The title track closes, and it’s one hell of a stylish thumper, built to put any sound system to the test. Though, “Godelian Argument” does little to change the theme of the EP, it instead simply showcases what Ekman does best, creating squelchy, raw, techno that packs one hell of a sinister punch. The Dutchman has well and truly cemented himself at the forefront of this particular style of techno. Keep up people.
Take a listen to the EP below via Bedouin’s SoundCloud.
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