It’s been nine months since Dadub released their debut album “You Are Eternity” on Stroboscopic Artefacts. Now the production duo return to the label with a three track “Untitled EP” featuring Retina.it and Grün. The result is a sophisticated yet robust package that beckons the listener on a journey of granular ambient landscapes subverted by heavy basslines and repetitive rhythmic structures.
Mistresses March is an almost 12-minute voyage of abstraction built upon a drawn out orgy of textural sound samples framed by the dictatorial yet distorted march of a 4/4 template. This is the longest track Dadub have released and it’s nice to observe that they’re confident amidst lengthy territories. The systematic use of breakdowns and samples constructs a complex track fused within a mechanised atmosphere.
Kykeon features Retina.it, one of Italy’s oldest experimental/electronic duos, resulting in a 4-man effort. Whilst Mistresses March is a perfect case study of how to use the same elements in 12 minutes, the idea behind of Kykeon is how to build these elements on to each other, minute by minute in order to reach a bright, cacophonic catharsis. Various noise effects swirl around a rhythmic pattern, which might be influenced by some earlier variant of dubstep, but the latter always remains in the background. The closing track Ergot Kernel (with Grün) is the loudest and most powerful tracks on the release. The vast sounds of rocket propulsion strengthen the sense of velocity; other components gift the narrative with an exciting and dramatic impact.
The Untitled EP firmly showcases that Dadub is not a one-album-project, there is a lot more to be discovered. In some moments these new tracks may be a bit hard to embrace for new listeners, but long-time fans can feel themselves rewarded for sure. If this EP is a transition from one sound to another, I can’t wait to hear what Dadub will release next.