Splitradix is the moniker of Irish producer Stephen Hennelly. Prior to taking on the Splitradix title for 2014's Glassilaun Memento EP, Hennelly was known variously as DJ Gaillimh and skkatter - both names which should ring a bell for those heads who had an eye on the scene in the 2000s.
Since Glassilaun Memento, Hennelly's brand of 'Gaeltachtstep' - 'Gaeltacht' meaning those areas of Ireland where the Irish language is still actively spoken - has graced both the Virtual Urban and 030303 labels. He continues to rep his area with 51º53'43"Nord 8º25'09"Waldorf, a four-track EP which marks the debut Splitradix drop on Sheffield's Central Processing Unit imprint. This is a textured, dynamic quartet of productions, one which uses the core sounds of electro, acid and IDM-techno as a base from which Splitradix can explore some fabulously idiosyncratic production tendencies.
'3350 Beach Electronic' is an exhilarating first flurry. Splitradix tracks are cut with a bevvy of analogue hardware, and as such it's no surprise that the track is alive with the sound of busy machinery. Beginning with a squelching Fenix synth, we soon find multiple melody lines coalesce into a melodious melange. Synths chatter and sparkle, counter-melodies slip-side around the bass, and bright, welcoming pads are anchored by piston-precise 808s. It's a stargazing delight, one that comes off like a souped-up take on the Lone sound, and a cracking introduction to 51º53'43"Nord 8º25'09"Waldorf.
Second cut 'Zassenhaus Lemma' kicks off in a Posthuman mode, with a delay-drenched 303 bassline meandering atop some chunky house drums. However, as acidic as the track sounds, Splitradix finds space in this crowded genre field with some brilliantly unusual harmony choices and zippy lead-lines that channel Discovery-era Daft Punk.
Much like '3350 Beach Electronic', 'Zassenhaus Lemma' is a perpetual motion machine, gathering synths and drums as it rolls ever onward. The same can be said of following number 'PS31 Sideways Rain', but this joint also coaxes out some more cerebral elements of the Splitradix sound. Whereas '3350 Beach Electronic' found us racing through the cosmos, 'PS31 Sideways Rain' glides gracefully across the astral plane, the synths cascading over one another while the pads look up to the night sky. It sets the listener up perfectly for rose-tinted closer 'PS31 Moxie', a tune which channels both prime Space Dimension Controller and Automatic Tasty's recent CPU drop The Future Is Not What It Used To Be.
Splitradix's Central Processing Unit debut 51º53'43"Nord 8º25'09"Waldorf is an evocative collection of off-kilter electro productions.
RIYL: Space Dimension Controller, Lone, KiNK, Automatic Tasty