About

Breakbeats are tricky. They're some of the most classic and identifiable sounds in dance music, going back to the '80s, so they're a hard thing to make your own. If they're not referencing a certain bygone era, then they're probably making you think of a specific song or artist. Shred is among the few to recently make breakbeats sound fresh—emphasizing their bounciness and elasticity, bathing them in vivid pads—and likeminded producers who follow often earn comparisons to him. Munich label Ilian Tape has been another key player, with a handful of artists who know their way around a breakbeat. Records from Stenny, Andrea and Skee Mask have been some of the most memorable. On his debut album, Shred, Skee Mask graduates from Ilian Tape's secret weapon to their breakout star.

Shred teases out the spacey stuff from two previous EPs. The album is arranged carefully, and Skee Mask takes full advantage of the extra room, doing nothing in a hurry. He eases in with five minutes of welcoming ambience on "Everest," and then introduces damp, mossy drums with "HAL Conv." An assertive kick pattern doesn't appear until "Autotuned," which is as tribal and severe as a Shackleton groove. It's Shred's first clubby cut, but it still takes a sideways approach, with springy drums that cushion the blow of heavier beats.  

Skee Mask goes on to test every breakbeat-led mood or idea he can think of. He gets nimble on "Shady Jibbin," taut on "Backcountry" and psychedelic on "Zenker Haze Trak." Every track has a piece of head-turning synth work, so light and fluffy that it sounds like sculpted fog. On softer tunes like "Zenker Haze Trak," Skee Mask emphasizes the motion of the breakbeat—pirouetting like a ballet dancer—rather than its physical power, which is part of what set him apart. Skee Mask is interested in how breakbeats can fit the odd nook and cranny of a musical measure. Even "Melczop 2," the album's sterling centrepiece and most retro moment, has a lightness of touch that defies comparison.

Shred feels like it was conceived as an actual album. The thoughtful sequencing follows Skee Mask through gentle peaks and valleys, through '90s prog, '80s chop-ups, IDM fantasia and Shed-style workouts. With alluring melodies, rich atmospheres and a superlative way with breakbeats and drum programming, Shred proves that techno can be as much about songwriting as dance floor functionality. — (via Resident Advisor)

—

Shred is cleverly titled, with both ironic and soul-seeking implications. To explain, “shred” is synonymous with high-octane skiing/snowboarding, though - and German techno producer Skee Mask might agree - the real thrill is more far-reaching than the snow and trees immediately in front of you. Often, the intensity of Skee Mask’s rhythmic manoeuvres are counterbalanced by the weight of the ambience, without exactly being ambient music. It’s spiked adrenaline waned by constantly looking over one’s shoulders, where the sensation of losing oneself is fuelled by offsets of both internal and external energies. Opener “Everest” is an ascent, as the sounds of a heightened pulse synch up with each step, while the ambience mimics an environment that is both serene and impending. From then on, each track is a finely-crafted unity of man-made ambition and natural (though, synthetic…) draw. Some of techno’s strongest producers are capable of music blurring the line between mechanical and organic; here, Skee Mask’s is also geographic.

The more you navigate Shred, strangely, the less you care about the finicky details of source material. Riding the high becomes more important than relishing the unpredictability of the beat work. Most songs, like “Zenker Haze Trak” and “Reshape”, operate at two frequencies: an energetic, rhythmic bliss and a series of sedated cascades. As some point in the tracklist - maybe album highlight “Melczop 2” - the latter frequency becomes more powerful than the former, regardless of how pronounced the beats are. On “Japan Air”, the punchy bass kicks are almost secondary to the wispy synths imitating the sensation of “surfing” the air with your hand through an open car window. That sums it up, really. Shred captures the satisfaction of little breaks in the chaos, where time dilates a bit as you remove yourself from the methodical pace of your immediate surroundings only to plunge back in, renewed. — (via Sputnik Music)

↓
Label: Ilian Tape
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album
Released: 2016
Genre: Electronic
Style: Techno, House, Breakbeat, Ambient

File under: Electronic // House / Electro / Techno
⦿