And so we drive down rain-slicked analogue motorways head first into our second EP series release following an IVVVO dispatch in September 2013.
This time out Ralph Cumbers AKA Some Truths AKA Bass Clef is behind the wheels. The clue is in the title. Tom "BugBrand" Bugs, denizen of Bristol, electronic sound devices engineer, maker and creator. The four tracks here are dedicated to his craft and design: the thrill of the analogue-surprise, the crunch of the circuit, the twist of the patch cable, the white-hot burn of solder on board. BUT it takes a real master to make sense of these machines, Public Information are so happy to have one in our midst.
Long-time wielder of the modular-flame, Ralph Cumbers has a distinguished CV for the likes of Punch Drunk and his own Magic+Dreams imprint. Here, across four extended sequences does he shine, taking the crystalline drive and coarse groove of the acclaimed Reeling Skullways LP into hotwired groove zones.
"Sometimes the only way out is to go further in" starts the trip. Take care dear listener; once you're in track one, you may not want to escape from its grip, its cyclical riffs, its space dust licks, its buttered bass notes. Then, the sadness. The mournful minor key shuffle of "elsewhen" is sheer blue-note Blade Runner melancholy. Then, the euphoria. Instant gratification hits you on "faster than the speed of love" a click-pump-click-pump kick surrounded by jagged sawtones, straight to the chest. Through swirling, speed-addled melodies does Clef then lead us- Detroit nights under Hackney sodium lights. Then, to a breath. Bugbranded arrives at an all too premature end with "neon black and vulcane" a glistening collage of white noise splash, acidic whispers and head-nod-chug.
This is techno how it was dreamed in Belleville, re-imagined by a genius with a synth or three. In Clef we trust, for all our magic and dreams.