Werkdiscs labelhead Darren Cunningham a.k.a. Actress has never released, or supported, easy-listening. He and signee Moiré specialize in a strain of harsh, dirty techno that does very little to explain itself; pleading its case for deep experimentation quite incisively, but never overtly. Both Moiré and Actress share an interest in discord, noise, and unsettling abstraction, flirting with the abstruse likes of minimal electronic “sound artists” such as Ryoji Ikeda and Alva Noto, while always managing to keep a good old four-four close at hand. One track may push in the “sound art” direction, while another may drop a snare on the two/four and a hi-hat on the off-beat, undoubtedly allying itself to the dancefloor. Werkdiscs operates from an uneasy middle-ground.
Their next release, an LP by Moiré called Shelter, heads the latter way. Shelter focuses on subtle rhythmic progressions and intelligent songwriting more heavily than the conceptual mischief featured on Werkdiscs’ last big release, Actress’ Ghettoville. By Werk standards, I guess you could call Shelter conservative, but only in the sense that it’s a lean refinement of an already pinpoint vision glimpsed only in pieces until now. Previously, Moiré has put out two EPs through Werk/Ninja Tune — Never Sleep and BBOY 2 / False. Shelter will drop on August 18.
Listen to “No Gravity” from the album while you wait.
• Moiré: https://twitter.com/moiresound
• Werkdiscs: http://www.werkdiscs.com
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