Cold Reader // Outsider Techno

Outsider art, sometimes known as raw art is a phrase used to describe work created by artists considered as existing outside of regular society. Sonically at least, it’d be fair to say Andy Fairclough aka Cold Reader steers away from convention, his working methods more akin to that of a sound designer than a traditional producer.

Outsider Techno is an ongoing project of Fairclough’s, gently mutating as different tracks are edited or replaced. Whether intentionally or not, this is an interesting concept in itself, as it rejects the idea that music should take a concrete form. As previously suggested the project is a foley rich experience; the samples used are left gritty and distorted, creating ominous unsettling textures that are maintained for the duration. The droning atmospheres found on Taekwon Dub or_ An Inappropriate Gesture of Thanks_ could easily be lifted from a Svarte Greiner EP, except they are mercilessly tamed by aggressive sidechaining.

The warped bass sounds included on tracks such as _Purple Possum or Holding Pattern _ help to convey a distinctly UK rooted, urban sensibility, parallel to other British genres such as grime or dubstep. The blend of these sounds puts Fairclough in a similar musical headspace to Bristol based artists like Szare, Vessel or Kowton. The Szare comparison is particularly notable on opening track Dissonance-Consonance, which utilises dissonant atmospheres (as expected) with low-swung dub-techno rhythms.

Outsider Techno is an unsettling experience, although curiously enticing at the same time, as expected of any good art existing outside of convention.

• Published
• Dec 4, 2012

• Credits
• Words by Theo Darton-Moore