London's Under My Feet. Collective Launches New Label With "Unravelling" [REVIEW]
The nonprofit organization, known for hosting proper underground events, have started a label with an inaugural release featuring Ireen Amnes and Kamikaze Space Programme.
After an unexpected hiatus prompted by global pandemic, London based artist collective Under My Feet. make its anticipated return to the public domain - premiering their first release as a proper record label. Already a well established non-profit organization known for hosting events with artists of all mediums, Under My Feet. follow up on their celebrated Live On Tape series with a collaborative four-track venture - Unravelling, authored by founder Ireen Amnes and Bristol native Christopher Jarman, best known as Kamikaze Space Programme.
Having ventured well into the realms of experimental noise, industrial peak-hour techno, clinical breakbeat science, and everything in between - both Amnes and Jarman’s respective catalogues evade straight-forward, stylistic classification. Amnes’s first album, released in 2020 on Berlin-based Sonic Groove, distinguished itself by opting for open and emotionally driven soundscapes over the percussion focused arrangements that preceded it. With a notable list of releases on Mote Evolver, WNCL, and his 2019 full-length debut on Osiris Music, Jarman has blazed his own noteworthy reputation of inimitable breakbeat mastery and tectonic manipulations of noise and distortion.
We are very grateful to have been contacted by the Under My Feet. team to review their wonderful debut release - thank you Michael for reaching out to us.
With a punchy breakbeat bursting without warning, Amnes and Jarman waste no time with formalities on the opening track Melatonin. The heavy-hitting percussion takes center stage here, accompanied by haunting gusts of wind typical to either of the collaborator’s sonic lexicon. The rolling breakbeat gains a head of steam with ratcheting drum fills before quickly bursting into a white-knuckle whirlwind of bass pressure. An electrified lead sequence reminiscent of the peak hour drum n’ bass records of the early aughts transforms it into the bonafide warehouse weapon that it is destined to be.
Ladder finds us at the mercy of a tempo fluid arrangement typical of Kamikaze Space Programme’s techno-adjacent efforts, forgoing any fixed pattern for a cumulative effort towards madness. For his solo contribution to the EP, the Bristolian's modular and industrial sensibilities are at the fore of this low-slung solo piece. Howling choruses and a pulsing synth sweep through a razor sharp drum sequence that reiterates his mastery of building tension.
The penultimate track of this collaborative effort is Fractured - it contrasts itself drastically to the rest, forging a theme entirely anew out of a seemingly incoherent motley of sound and distortions. The spastic tantrums of overblown drums and bit-crushed modular squelches are strung together only by an omniscient sense of dread - spurred by industrial foley in the distant background. A real exposition of its collaborators' mastery of sound, the duo delicately compose an all-out overload of the senses.
Amnes delivers a chilling solo exploration of melody with Lost Transmission, thus concluding the label's debut EP. Though her previous releases and taste-making capacities as a DJ were a clear indication of her influences, the track is an undeniable testament to her fluency in forward-thinking sound design and drum sequencing. The precarious drum play is escorted by the track’s thematic melody through a barrage of feedback and thundering riffs, while never losing its stride in the mix of developing emotions.
Drawing from all of Amnes and Jarman's unique influences and technical capacities, a visceral and unnerving quality common to both of their musical pedigrees has proven to shine through each track. With future releases from Cocktail Party Effect and Katatonic Silentio planned, we are properly excited to see the Under My Feet. grow and thrive as a label in the coming years.
Unravelling is out this Friday and can be purchased digitally or on cassette via Bandcamp.
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