Recommended
Illusion of Randomness // Sissel Wincent
Peder Mannerfelt's eponymous label is fast becoming a leader in championing new talent in the world of avante-electronics. The imprint provided the breakthrough EP from Anna Vtorova aka Machine Woman, as well as an early release from now Editions Mego signed Klara Lewis alongside assorted Mannerfelt self-releases. The latest act to feature on the label is Sissel Wincent, a Swedish artist with an ear for the same heat-warped electronics and tin-drum polyrhythms which typify Mannerfelt's own releases.
Similarly to these, and indeed Machine Woman's release for the label, the 'Illusion of Randomness' EP has an unpolished feel, as if a number of modular's had been left on at the end of a live set - left to bleep on into the small-hours. Take 'Monstera' for example, firing off wild laser blasts of static and flanger, creating a hypnotic assault on the senses. 'As If' on the other hand barks dalek vocals over roughshod skin drums and off-kilter melodies which feel as if they are being plucked out on an elastic band.
There is something ritualistic in Wincent's crawling rhythms, and similarly something very Radiophonic Workshop at the same time. 'Investigation' continues on from the previous track almost seamlessly, before thudding kick drums hint at something more dancefloor oriented. The build is slow and unrelenting, only reaching a partial climax leaving the listener suspended in anticipation.
This said, at choice moments Wincent does step full-heartedly into the realms of danceable techno. The stuttered resonances of 'Chrome' is case in point. The track is almost reminiscent of Objekt's formidable beat experiments, tremoring rumbles of low-end providing firm foundation beneath Wincent's relentless single note motif - like a recurring error message on an outdated PC.
Yet again Mannerfelt has done an excellent job of capturing an artist at their most raw and creative - the catalog of releases here being almost Modal Analysis like in terms of aesthetic but with a more playful, freeform feel. Here's to hoping there's plenty more discoveries on the horizon.
- Published
- Jun 14, 2016
- Credits
- Words by Theo Darton-Moore