“Das Unheimliche” is the Freudian term for the Uncanny, the hidden threat lying under an apparent normality, the reverse side of the quiet surface of things. And honestly, the concept could well find in Madteo‘s sound architectonics its contemporary lineage. Playing hide-and-seek with over-textured layers that by turns develop paradoxical feelings of warmth and insecurity, melodically blowing hot and cold, the NYC-based producer steers his boat on sight. This new release on Parisian outlet Latency will not shake presuppositions.
Every sample resonates in and out of its little loop box, both focused on and digressed from, unfolding sub-structures inside the bigger picture in a permanent dawn of subjugation. Take the overlapping, softly-battering rhythm of ‘Hoodshedding’, a perfect example of Madteo’s sense of expansion with a minimal lot of elements, a track on which the man manages to keep afloat a sound carcass that none but the man himself would dare sculpting. Yet, the tune develops a singular charm that’s well worth the dedication.
The opening track ‘Irreconcilable Indifferences’ is definitely the most haunting of the three and the recipe lies as much in Madteo’s graceful sense of sample-stretching, rough cut and pasting, as it rests upon a truly nonconformist approach of the loop art. Like snipers hitting the trigger in between two heartbeats, the man keeps juggling with sonic superimpositions and untamed cadency. The simple mix of poetic sensuality of that dissonant guitar ballade and subtle sonic splits are carrying the day here.
The closing tune ‘Discomfort Zone’ offers a last glimpse of Madteo’s distorted ambiances in a more hard-liner way, fading lights flashing a last time before the funfair closes its doors. The underlying threat couldn’t feel more tangible, the moist atmosphere turns asphyxiating. Anxiety is over, or has it just started growing on you? One thing is sure, Madteo’s paranoid cuts lost nothing of their fearful charm.
Raveyard Shifts is out now on Latency Recordings, order a vinyl copy from Juno.
TRACKLIST
A1 Irreconcilable Indifferences
B1 Hoodshedding
B2 Discomfort Zone
> WATCH ‘DISCOMFORT ZONE’ ON YOUTUBE
Discover more about Madteo and Latency Recordings on Inverted Audio.