Premiere // GAMESHARK on Quanta Records

Quanta Records are set to release SHARK 4 お歯黒, the fourth full length LP from Echo Hazard under her ＧＡＭＥＳＨＡＲＫ™ moniker. With a name like that, in near-parody vapourware font, and matching 90s cyberspace artwork, it might be tempting to dismiss a release like this as a cartoonish meme. But in the accompanying press release, Quanta reveal that the album is inspired by a much older (and better hidden) art movement: Flashcore.

In 1998, the French imprint Hangars Liquides, founded by Laurent Mialon (or 'La Peste') defined Flashcore as, “the spatial and temporal conception of air landscapes of which ‘sonic atoms’ are being controlled with the exclusive aim of making us explore our minds and perceive any kind of transcendence”. In simpler terms, Flashcore plays with tempo and rhythm in its extremities. Expect anxiety-inducing BPMs and a barrage of unique kick samples.

This latest release from ＧＡＭＥＳＨＡＲＫ™ is a ride through sonic pyrotechnics and hyper-engineered production trickery. Often, the tempos slip down or up mid-track, making the whole experience joyfully disorientating. It is wrong-footing at every step: every time the pulse seems to stabilise, the rug is pulled from underneath.

In an exclusive for Stray Landings, ＧＡＭＥＳＨＡＲＫ™ has shared a track from her new album, out on March 20th on Quanta Records. Listen below.

• Published
• Mar 13, 2018

• Credits
• Words by Georgie_McVicar