Rowan Walder aka Randomer has been casually nurturing a reputation for piercing compositions that seep with tension, restrained violence and genre disregard. Last year’s ‘Brunk’ (on Hessle Audio’s 116 & Rising compilation) was bumpy and venomous, a joyride fuelled by anchor-heavy drums and sparse melodic incisions, a banger to breathe new life into the phrase ‘skeletal’. The resuscitation continued apace with the ‘Obtuse’ EP on Raffertie‘s Super Recordings. It dropped in the summer, displaying similar dead-eyed percussive nous and subtle house nods.
The next step for Walder is the ‘Real Talk’ EP, the twentieth release on Numbers, where it really feels like the dots are starting to join up. The title track bristles with an angry thump, deft hihats hover in and around some verbal sparring before an impudent bassline steals the show. ‘Lime Pie’ is a more enveloping, swiftly dropping into a jittery dancefloor cut that begs you to lose your shit whilst proudly revealing techno sensibilities. The suitably tenebrous sting in the tail comes in the form of ‘Stalker’, a slinky horror shot through with percussive sharps and mangled rising synth lines. All in all, a chilling finale to an EP that indicates Randomer’s musical odyssey will continue to develop in twisted, beautiful ways.