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After The Social // Stave
Label: Repitch Recordings
Format: 12”/Digital
Release Date: 25/02/2015
Jonathan Krohn has achieved rather a lot over the last two years. He debuted as part of the duo Talker (along with Karl Meier), releasing both an album and EP of industrial, noise ridden techno. Solo, his sonic standpoints are similar. Under the name ‘Stave’ he has put out two further works , both with comparably brooding aesthetics. Following suit is his most recent release, ‘After The Social’ which feels as if it’s been composed with little more than a bass guitar and an oil drum. It has a gritten, sandpaper like quality to it - like two bricks disintegrating as they are scraped against one another.
Despite it’s rugged texture, ‘After The Social’ maintains an amphetamine charged level of energy. ‘Hardened Chord’ for example thunders forward from it’s first second - like a greyhound loosed from the stalls. Like much of Stave’s EP, the track is essentially loop-driven, which seems an odd approach for a set of tracks so richly textured. The technique is usually reserved for more overtly functional techno, yet here it adds nicely to Krohn’s droning soundscapes.
The tracks smoulder intently - like Sunn O))) with a pulse. They crackle wildly as they are repeatedly barraged by fuzz and distortion. ‘Circle Pit’ lets out tortured screams above an abyss of bone-shattering sub, rumbling forcefully and incessantly. ‘Paid Jazz’ offers at least a degree more dynamic. Its intro gives the listener a few seconds to gather breath before thundering back to a cacophony of rattling bass and thudding snares.
Karl O’Connor alleviates nothing by way of intensity across his spartan take on ‘Hardened Chord’ - brazen 4/4 kicks hammering beneath rumbling percussive flourishes. He does take pains to construct some shifts in dynamic and intensity and intensity however. The track develops with slow menace - in line with the Sandwell District signature sound which has made his previous productions so influential.
'After The Social' is full-throttle, and on the surface makes little concession for subtlety. After a few listens it becomes clear where the EP's real beauty lies however. Despite the lack of breaks or intro sections to the tracks, Krohn's detailed nuances give the release a wild, untamed feel, which is hard not to be affected by.
- Published
- Feb 23, 2015
- Credits
- Words by Theo Darton-Moore