"The unique poiesis at work in UVB76 pieces makes 'SĀN' a truly idiosyncratic opus that steers away from generic comprehension"
Like your techno greasy and boisterous? Like it ruff and “exotic”? Like your techno to not be mere techno? Like it when it smacks and when it bangs out loud like thunder across the rainforest on a damp summer night?
Ticking all boxes and more, the debut full-length offering from Russia-via-Brittany based duo UVB76 comes as a warning to the creatively worn-out 4/4 purists and stale-minded heads: future lies in the hybrid and the unpure, the bastardized and the non-eugenic ; future is a cross-bred dog howling at the moon.
The unique poiesis at work in UVB76 pieces makes ‘SĀN‘ a truly idiosyncratic opus that steers away from generic comprehension – largely inspired by the pair’s recent Asian tour but managing to adroitly avoid the hollow-sounding pitfall of glammed-up exo-tech that could have resulted.
Atmosphere-wise, just imagine the Berghain flooded like a concrete-clad paddy under monsoon rains, roots and lianas spreading across its brutalist architecture in endless vines and grapes, all swathed in a finely indented tissue of organic field-recordings, rough-patched FXs and brooding industrial echoes.
Tried and tested live for the past couple years, the level of technicality of Tchoulanov and Bizien’s floor engineering proves astonishing throughout, never losing an ounce of its flamethowing breath over the course of eight war-mongering stompers. ‘Hajime‘ commences hostilities in a rather straightforward way, firing off full clips of theatrical-sized kicks, distorted koto riffs and Stakhanovian amounts of textured percussive lacework.
A slightly more psychedelic affair, ‘Qiankun Tu‘ trades the binary thump of the previous for a broader metronomic pulse, swinging the pendulum far and wide between jagged oracular ceremony music and custom-built big room weaponry, akin in style and swagger to Tzusing’s heaviest floor shredders; whilst the further abstract, next-level incendiarism of ‘Siji‘ and ‘Nox‘ draws even nearer to the abrasive frenzy of ‘4 Floors Of Whores‘.
Throwing all its forces in the battle, ‘Shugo‘ is another highlight of the record with its cavalcading drums onslaughts and roaring drones. Upping the tempo a notch further, the track aims at casting a spell of deadly euphoria on the dancers, whilst ‘Itaewon’ (for Seoul’s eponymous district, where the street preaching samples have been recorded) goes in with the adrenaline-pumping breaks and a whelming dose of frizzling machinic spurts, sure to wreak havoc anywhere, anytime.
Hard to believe ‘SĀN‘ is the French-Russian pair’s debut long-player and second release ever, so much it feels exhaustively thought-out and surgically executed throughout. Thinking of it, it’s been a long time since a LP last made such an impression of potency and control in both its construction and effect, having you feel like the dragon’s just awakened from its slumber every time the needle hits the groove.
SĀN is released via Teenage Menopause Records on April 19th, pre-order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. Yoyogi (Digital Bonus)
2. Hajime
3. Qiankun Tu (feat. Mari Suzuki)
4. Onna (feat. Mari Suzuki)
5. Shugo
6. Itaewon
7. Siji
8. Nox
9. Horo (feat. Mari Suzuki)
10. Hashima (Digital Bonus)
Discover more about UVB76 and Teenage Menopause Records on Inverted Audio.