Wasteland
October
Transparent
Neither concerned with appeasing the IDM body politic nor its warm, fuzzy tendencies, Wasteland is a whole other beast unto itself. Bourne of the urban sprawl of its two conspirators, New York’s I-Sound and London’s DJ Scud, Wasteland unleashes gritty, heavy and enthralling soundscapes that bridge the increasingly diminishing gap between Massive Attack, Amon Tobin and Einsturzende Neubauten.
Spires of dub and distorted breaks clash with wiry, acid-laced textures, echoing the grimier side of these lads’ respective hometowns. “Sandwood” scrapes the surface then pounds the pavement with stinging beats like a hundred flashbulbs. “Industrial Injury” speaks for itself, as machinist percussion grinds away under grating sonics. Incorporating sounds unusual to their turfs, Wasteland follows the acclaimed Amen Fire LP with another amalgamated mind-altering entity that’s subterranean but just waiting to burst to the surface. Although October is aesthetically cold, its noise-funk is also cohesive, resonant and a welcome paradigm shift in experimental electronics.
