CIRCULAR SQUARE - 12.5h -60° SQ3
✺ 12.5h -60° SQ3 marks the return of Circular Square, fleshing out in EP-length the interstices of the bass-heavy and melodic club acrobatics he laid out on Crux III: 3-HT-(xon). Proving once again his refined skill at crafting cutting edge sounds, the six playful tracks feel innately alive with the squelchy ghosts inhabiting their soundscapes
Glassy bleeps and percussive pings permeate 4KO-L3, the introductory track, until sleek Drum & Bass propulsions take center stage and a strangely catchy twang of harmonies bounce through the stereo field. 96-EC[labs], on the other hand, one-ups the interplay of glitchy plonks, shifting lower registers and swaying breakbeats, before Oo8hmT turns this formula into a rather spartan stop-and-go of Jungle grimace.
In the second half of the EP, J-7(co)B teases with downcast string-like intersections that hint at a beauty lingering below, but a towering bassline and puncturing drums always keep the listener in suspense. D-Tom21 dons an otherworldly instrument that morphs from percussion to strings and back over a shrieking bass in proper half-step mode, while the atmospheric closer K-vHN (9P) adorns its splintered breaks with crystalline chimes, pointing at a bygone and smeared nostalgia, but always remains firmly anchored in the present. ✺
2. 96-EC[labs]
3. Oo8hmT
4. J-7(co)B
5. D-Tom21
6. K-vHN (9P)
