OM/PR

Lapping at the edge between 21st century chamber music and kosmische-infused proto dance, Orion Moustache eases us in the realm of abstract sound geometries through a smorgasbord of sci-fi style laser blasts, tapping drums and acid-drenched manoeuvres on his weightless opener, ‘Orbit’. Laying it heavy on the breaks and syncopated swagger, ‘Chips’ engineers a fun-loving mix of low-slung hip-hop moves, warped bass modulations and cheap Casio synth tune straight out the 80s wormhole, whereas ‘Float’ trades that hip-rolling gait for a further straightforward groove. Not departing from that breaksy signature but injecting it with a slightly bleaker punch, Orion Moustache takes us on a mesmeric journey across verbed-out post-industrial soundscapes, flush with haunted tape echo’ed tapestries and FX-soaked floor cinematics.

Flip it over and here’s Panta Rex taking over with the metamorphic ‘Transubstance’. As cascading sequences of primitive drums merge with ghostly exhalations, eerie wind chimes and deeply textured beds of electronics, we’re summoned to a strange shamanic rite of passage. ‘Straightforward’ works a different blend of left-of-centre hardware jazz, fusing intricate drum motifs with elastic distortions, magnetic glitches and modular exchanges to captivating effect. Drawing things to a close, ‘Lanterna’ has us descending into an organic-sounding pool of muddy reverbs and odd grotto sounds, as if on a speleological sortie across a labyrinth of uncharted nooks and crannies. As we find ourselves moving from dark rupestrian alleys onto secret subterranean lakes and mystery-shrouded potholes, Panta Rex’s music swells with growingly enveloping echoes from a distant realm, in search of that elusive memory of another world, buried deep beneath the surface of the one we call home.

Tracklisting:

A1 Orion Moustache – Orbit
A2 Orion Moustache – Chips
A3 Orion Moustache – Float
B1 Panta Rex – Transubstance
B2 Panta Rex – Straightforward
B3 Panta Rex – Lanterna