About

“Let’s get physical,” a phrase originally made famous by Olivia Newton-John and recently repurposed by Dua Lipa, could serve as the implicit throughline of Malaysian-born, Shanghai- and Taipei-based DJ Tzusing’s sophomore album, Green Hat. It’s not the physicality of polyester-clad hips and pointed fingers, nor of canoodling under a disco ball’s plasticine shimmer; it’s the heart-pounding rhythm of primal instinct, the near-eruptive thump of blood through every vessel, the adrenaline that somehow propels you those few key steps beyond hunters in pursuit. It’s the physicality that arises when words will no longer serve you: when you finally realize that you may not, in fact, have this dance.

To call "Green Hat" a techno album would be a disservice to the L.I.E.S. affiliate, who disavows purism. And while he may be able to directly name his influences, which range from EBM and Chicago house to the wuxia action genre, he interweaves them into a bass-driven industrial sound, along with his characteristic string instrumentation, that somehow thumps evocatively, even cinematically, rather than being defined by genres or any flouting of them.

And while "Green Hat" is unashamed to lean into its layered concept, the album never loses its well-rehearsed dancefloor momentum. Tzusing has been through many metamorphoses during his career, but it's here where sounds most eager to unify his interests and inclinations. From the ruthlessly funky hard drum inversion of '孝忍狠 (Filial Endure Ruthless)' and the manic uptempo roll of 'Exascale', to the gurgling combination of wheezing voices and downtempo rhythms on Suda collaboration 'Cloud Tunnel' and the wedding party flex of epic closing track 'Residual Stress', there's a sense that the producer has truly found his groove. It's an album that underscores dance music's often manic uneasiness, smoothly paralleling this with the frenzied stress of infidelity. Fear is a well-worn musical theme that transcends genre, but Tzusing approaches it from a fresh perspective; this isn't blood dripping from skulls, it's rapid-fire thoughts piercing the mind. Now that's truly terrifying. — (via Bandcamp / Pitchfork )

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Label: Pan
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Germany
Released: Feb 9, 2024
Genre: Electronic
Style: Techno
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File under: House / Electro / Techno