“The Human Code”
I found this “old” one (from all the way back in 2019) in my Bandcamp collection. Since I’ve been digging subduxtion’s “drift” album lately, I thought I’d give this a figurative spin and, wow, it’s very good but very different from the more recent releases; “The Human Code” is definitely part of the noise-industrial complex. Opener “What is War?” lets us know we’re in for some distortion and racket. [There’s a later “Hegemony mix” of this song on the album, but you’d be forgiven for not recognizing it; most of the brighter elements have been removed, replaced by a monster being unleashed for battle.] I thought the song “Server” was a pretty strong rhythm exercise (that, with its synth lines, at times reminded me of earlier period Chrome), but then the next track arrived. “Synaptic Allocation” assaults you with harsh beats and noise, and never lets up. Closing song “The Frost Line” brings on some drums and anthems of war. Heavy, brother, heavy.
“drift”
Some more musical goodness from subduxtion. Like his last album “mist,” this is another fine collection of songs featuring beats, electronics, mild techno and industrial elements, and a nice dub influence. It’s also similar in that you can chill to this late at night in a low-light environment, or be rewarded with a close headphone listen by appreciating the constant subtle changes. If I was comparing these songs with the last record, I’d say these tunes probably have a slightly more spacey element. With that said, they’re an excellent pair of complementary releases, and (maybe not) coincidentally, the last track here – “wahft” – drifts pretty seamlessly into “Cluster,” the opener on “mist.” Float on, friends.
“Mist”
While I never know quite what to expect from MuteAnt releases, I didn’t expect this. But, as with all things MuteAnt, the surprises are always, inevitably, welcome. This is a really great collection of six songs from Subduxtion (Christopher Gilmore) with influences of dub, ambient, and mild techno beats. You could probably play this as background music to cool out, but it actually deserves a close listen. The heavy dub sound of the first track (“Cluster”) sets the stage, as you’ll hear that dub influence throughout. There are some fun production elements (like the machine gun handclaps and crisp, echoing percussion sounds driving “Repressed”) but also some darker edges (check out “M One”). It’s a winner.