Inspected Drops "1992" Mix, Previews Powered by Inspected 3

The London-based independent label Inspected has released some of the most progressive broken beat electronic music of the 2010’s from artists like Koan Sound, Culprate, Monuman, COPYCATT. Few if any imprints have pushed the neuro sound so aggressively yet with such nuance. Yesterday, to celebrate the launch of their “1992” merchandise line, they dropped a scorching hot 30-minute mix featuring some of their best music from the past several years plus remixes/VIPs and unreleased delights.

Deep heads have become accustomed to awaiting Inspected’s Movember drop each year. Some of the most wicked tunes in the game have come from their Powered by Inspected compilations. According to the cheeky vocal sampling in this mix, the unreleased music within is forthcoming this Fall on Powered by Inspected 3. Review tracklists for the first two volumes of this compilation, and you’ll realize big things are in store. Ambitious trainspotters in the comments section of the Youtube upload have compiled an impressive tracklist so far for the 1992 mix.

Tracklist

Vellum - ID
Culprate - Jelly and Ice Cream VIP or remix
Emperor - Jackhammer
Chee - ID
RefraQ - Necromancer
Ekcle - Serene Mont Garde
Sorrow - Want U Back
HELP, Refraq?
Monuman - If You Want
Vorso - Waterfront VIP
HELP

The gnarly garage opener is a highlight, as is the remix or VIP of Culprate’s fantastical “Jelly and Ice Cream”. The sequence in the latter half of the mix featuring Sorrow into an unknown tune into Monuman’s “If You Want” is sublime. Inspected is one of those rare labels that never disappoints. On top of that, they produce bold, fresh merchandise and judging by the marketing strategy and vocal samples on this mix, they’re also a bunch of cut ups to boot.

Those who attended Down to Earth Festival in upstate New York during the weekend of the total solar eclipse in 2017 were treated to a rare Inspected showcase, featuring the North American debut of the label director and DJ Inspector. One can only dream that this will ever happen again in the states. For now, jamming this mix and following for news of Powered 3 is the next best thing.

FOLLOW Inspected: Official / Spotify / Soundcloud / Twitter / YouTube / Facebook / Shop

KOAN Sound Levels Up in Potency on Intervals Above EP

Nine months ago, KOAN Sound emerged from a three year release hiatus with their genre-bending album Polychrome. It was a fresh dive into the melody-driven side of KOAN Sound’s music, and showcased a bevy of new production skills and sound design techniques that the pair developed during their respite from the public eye. While they have always been at the forefront of underground neuro music and production, Polychrome was a long form reminder that they are still kicking just as fiercely now as they were during their original foray into the world. 

With the summer coming to an end, and a series of long-awaited KOAN Sound tour dates locked in throughout the fall, the pair have unleashed a veritable surprise for their fans; Intervals Above, a five track EP filled with audacious fidelity and production nuance. It builds on the production developments found within Polychrome, but channels the classic KOAN timbres with a focus on intensity and raw power. Each track feels sparser in the composition, leaving room for the development of every tone and motif. Intervals Above is a direct, high-impact delivery of KOAN Sound’s elaborate soundscapes and favored musical modes. 

“Strident” opens the EP with washed-out synths and a vivacious, glitch-out acoustic string line. It sets the mood like only KOAN Sound can, channeling groove and melody long before the true rhythm of the song is in full motion. The arrangement follows a practical, texture-rich bass line that envelopes bright pads and gentle melodies from end to end. By the conclusion of the track, foley and synthesis meld into a series of cascading waves ebbing and flowing within the stereo space.

Chalky White, a Bristol-based guitarist with a penchant for accentuating bass music, received a healthy dose of fanfare over his chops in “Chalk It Out” on KOAN Sound’s last album. He reprises his role across the entirety of Intervals Above, most notably on the track “Vibrant”. It begins with a blend of synthesis and sultry string lines that fold into a melodious, staccato breakdown. The song combines salient sound design with a torrent of transient percussion and fluttering arpeggios. The lead synthesis lines meet each guitar chop squarely on cadence, fusing the airiness and presence within the track into an organic, evolving composition.

“Vivid” brings the EP to a gentle close, eschewing intensity in favor of pure flavor. For much of the songs runtime, it is an ambient and reverberant journey into the musicality of the KOANs. Serene, ephemeral chords stack atop short burst of hums and hymns, charging the stereo space with powerful bursts of emotion. At the height of climax, the minute-long flash of percussion fades into the background, and the song falls back into a cushion of synthetic textures and resounding chord phrases.

After years of relative quiet from the duo, it has been an especially auspicious year for KOAN Sound fans. Between Polychrome and Intervals Above, the KOANs touched upon every facet of their musicianship. To make matters even more exciting, they have announced their first set of major tour dates in the last several years, and they are currently slated to appear across the US from September to November. It seems like 2019 is the year of the KOAN, and we’re looking forward to a serious reunion on the dance floor.

FOLLOW KOAN Sound: Facebook / Soundcloud / Spotify / Official

KOAN Sound - Polychrome

Three years after their last EP and nearly seven years after their first, the production powerhouse duo KOAN Sound unveil their most ambitious and lucid music to date; Polychrome. Stuffed with 11 fully developed compositions, KOAN Sound’s first full-length LP is an aural odyssey that presents itself with taste-making vision. It represents a next step in the production theory behind the neuro sound and style progenated by KOAN Sound themselves. This pioneering tag team has been deep in the alchemical mindscape of sound design and audio engineering, and the result is a revamping of their personal flair and a beyond advanced understanding of stereophonic sound.

Alongside the likes of Culprate, Kursa, Disprove, Skope, and others, KOAN Sound had a strong hand in developing and refining the amorphous, phased-out umbrella genre of “neuro” music. Characterized by time-based warping and glitching, highly compressed percussion, multi-band frequency splitting and processing, and mid-tempo arrangements, neuro has become a ubiquitous and infectious influence among the incoming generation of bass music producers the world over. While the quest to emulate the unique design and form of music native to KOAN Sound and their contemporaries can beget encouragement and excitement, part of what made this musical offshoot so enticing in the first place is how utterly meticulous and left-field it’s Promethean parents are. Polychrome stands tiers above the general landscape of eclectic, broken-beat music, as one should expect it to.

To consider what makes this album so enriching for the ears, start with the mix down. The sheer volume of tones, textures, and saturated frequency space requires a well-choreographed dance and blend of stereo depth, panning, compression, EQing, and one hell of a set of ears (or two) to dial in such utter fidelity. “Cobalt”, the first track on the album, creates balance between the bevy of digital instruments at play. Characteristic of KOAN Sound, the song is busy but this does not muck over the articulate glitches, arcs, and crescendos that populate the upper frequency spectrum. Likewise, the brolic distortion and re-sampled texture of the bass reverberates just enough to have a full body, but is instantaneously cut with each down beat through juiced-up volume ducking and compression algorithms.

If the crystal clear mix-down can be described as the album’s “presentation”, then the “ingredients” are inherently the composition, arrangement, and emotional intent of each track. “Chalk It Out”, a collaborative jazzhole with Bristol-based multi-instrumentalist Chalky White, allows KOAN Sound’s linear, progressive songwriting abilities to shine. In a music culture sometimes saturated with two- or three- minute tracks and build-drop-build-drop structures, a full composition like this one, that has proper room and license to flourish, is a breath of fresh air. Fizzy production and tactile synthesis merge intuitively with organic instrumentation, morphing into a potpourri of harmonies and graceful dialogue. Each measure gradually introduces subtle changes to existing tonal elements while new musical phrases mesh and meld in and out of the mix.

While all 11 tracks within Polychrome are characteristically KOAN Sound in nature, they cross a variety of tempos, rhythms, and attitudes, displaying years of experimentation finally brought together under a single release. “Virtual Light” feels reminiscent of earlier, melody-driven KOAN Sound works which capitalized on the particular notation of high-octane neuro synthesis. Symmetrical stutters and glitched-out turnarounds form the ambiguous boundary lines of a self-contained orb of fundamentally freeform music. Folds of liquid low-end wrap around stabs of rounded alto notes, creating an arrangement with the physical quality of non-newtonian fluid.

At its absolute peak of intensity, the album explodes in a righteous firestorm of primal DnB. Channeling the undeniable power of England’s favorite flavor of aggressive music, “Hydroplane” unleashes bass weight with a vicious roar, concentrating the total firepower of KOAN Sound’s extensive years of production wizardry into a single shot. Extreme amounts of reverb and saturation color the synthetic textures with an oceanic exuberance, causing the track to pulse like a newly formed quasar. Earlier this year, KOAN Sound debuted this track for fans old and new on a monstrous Hennessey Sound System during the evening hours at Psychedelic Sleepover. The raw force with which it ripped through the speaker cones warrants a moment of a silence for what surely became a few ruptured eardrums.

It is by no means without precedent for artists and musical projects to go dormant for some span of time while they begin their next creative endeavors. All throughout the last three years, KOAN Sound performed sparingly at boutique festivals and one-off musical events, choosing instead to focus the majority of their time on polishing their comprehension of production. The enduring patience of their supporters has given way to a brilliant maturation of their musical vision, and it goes without saying that all good things come in time.

Polychrome has done what many similar post-breakout endeavors fail to do; it captures the listener by immersing the senses in a unique interpretation of nostalgia and inexperience. On the heels of such a remarkable endeavor, it is safe to say that we are all holding our breath for the arrival of an equally sought-after tour. As 2019 approaches, a new album coupled with a new year just might be enough to put KOAN Sound more directly in line with our future selves.

FOLLOW KOAN Sound: Soundcloud / Spotify / Bandcamp / Official