Hunted // Magnetic Northwest

Surprisingly Stephen Pelling’s bruised and battered post techno project Magnetic Northwest has only been in operation for the past eight months, not something you’d expect to to hear given the calibre of one of his most recent offerings, Hunted.

Glitchy and distorted from the get go, _Hunted _utilises many of the themes exploited by the likes of Actress and Tommy Four Seven in its appreciation of crumbling lofi textures. Abrasive static laden samples are tied together by the introduction of a dark relentless kick drum, driving the track forward in a hazy drunken march. Hunted’s thumping rhythms are amplified by the addition of what we can only assume are grainy shredded vocal cuts, adding a resonant punch on the offbeat. Despite the multi layered percussive textures Pelling makes use of, the track still manages to retain a feeling of simplicity, preventing its finely detailed soundscapes becoming overbearing.

Three minutes in sees a dramatic twist for Hunted, the Preston based producer introducing a rampant squelching acid bass sounds throwing a whole new perspective on the track. Following an intensely dark atmospheric build up, the introduction of these sounds puts a nostalgic twist on the track, subtly bringing to mind the tearout acid-tech sounds popular through the early nineties.

Keep an eye out for Magnetic Northwest’s debut EP, expected to coincide with several live appearances around November.

• Published
• Aug 31, 2012

• Credits
• Words by Theo Darton-Moore