Artist: Jamaica Suk
Title: Whispers EP
Label: Gradient
Release Date: 3 December 2018
Tracklist
A1 Jamaica Suk - "Stinger Ray"
A2 Jamaica Suk - "Fallen"
B1 Jamaica Suk - "Whispers"
B2 Jamaica Suk - "Twilight Rain"
With recent appearances on Boiler Room and the Groove Magazine Podcast plus sets across Asia and Europe, Jamaica Suk's fearsome Techno sounds are winning fans far and wide. A year on from her debut release on her own Gradient label comes this stunning second volume.
A1 Stinger Ray kicks off the EP with zingy modular-style synth sounds pulsing over a bubbling, murky bass-line. Sheet metal snares punctuate the beat, with a switch-up halfway through into gnarled, distorted synth crunches catching you unaware. These brutalised rhythms morph in and out of hypnotic arpeggiated pulses to make for a hallucinatory ride with ample dashes of psychedelia throughout.
A2 Fallen sets it outs stall immediately, with filtered down acidic bass playing out a jagged groove. A manic counterpart mimics its rhythm but dizzily delays off the beat to create a rugged, funk-fuelled feel. Cymbal rides pitch up and down; unidentified snarls of FX mutate around the edges; all the while the sharp hi-hats keep the metronomic heartbeat going.
B1 Whispers ups the intensity. Delicate, arpeggiated chime sounds set a crystalline mood before swathes of intense, darkly-tinged synths swell in and out of focus atop the throbbing kick drums. The effect is that of a factory full of machines growing a mind of their own, malfunctioning in a pleasing harmonic dissonance.
B2 Twilight Rain (Vinyl only) completes the set with infectious triple kick drum patterns underpinning dramatic drum hits and warped atmospheric shivers that create a spooky feel as droning bass tones carve a path through your speakers.