Abrax Anamnesis EP Abrax Records | The Electro Review

Abrax
Anamnesis EP
Abrax Records
TBR: 9th December


This is the first in the catalogue for Abrax Records, with the steersman taking the helm and casting off into unknown territories. This Berlin based music producer creates techno that forces listeners out of their mental boxes and pushes them into self-awareness through vigorous dancing. Not just bland beats with dabblings of melody, music from Abrax is made to snap us out of the hive mind mentality. The hypnotic state of mind in which we repeat the same tired snippets of dogma handed down from admirable and charismatic individuals who may or may not know what they are talking about. Now we get to enjoy four fresh dance tracks which want us to stop thinking like everyone else and start being who we were meant to be. Anamnesis is the condition of recalling a previous life, one that we lived before we were plugged into the often malfunctioning society that surrounds us today.


The first and title track takes its time to unfurl. It starts with digital chimes that call out across a polyphonic scale. High-end tinkles bounce across hollow bell sounds before abstract crunching with tonnes of reverb spans out before us. A drum rolls in with quick snare hits as the synthesiser section releases a spray of atmospheric pads. The music progresses gradually with several sonic elements suggesting upward motion and space-age ambience. Atmospheric churning of melody coils around the armature of rhythm which continues to lift the track into the audial sky. A new section enters to shift the track into a new phase. Extra drums and bashing bass driven rolls slam into the piece to press down on the extra garnish, elevating the rhythmic quality to full consciousness. Slowly the subtle space and sculptures of waveform creep back in.


The second track strikes straight away with huge bass and a twisting grind that fills the spaces. The synth sounds build and swell with digital and crumbling currents of wavelength as the tempo is elevated in continual additions of rhythmic percussives. Melody chimes behind the rampant heaviness as dancing energy is thrust forward in bars of dramatic sound exploration. Digital noises swirl and bassy drops curl over the cliff-face as new found motivations and throbbing rhythms inject into the track. Intervention is that number that leaves us feeling doubt free that Abrax is truly here to ring out the alarm call.


Storm Is Coming follows on the second side of the vinyl. Light touches with heady bass begin to peel away the silence to reveal a shimmering array of rhythms. Synths gradually build beneath the upper layers with melodic sliding on small sixpences of harmony. Cymbals crash with repetitive bursts of shiny metal-work while the abstract and slightly industrial underside continues to swell and creep beside. Siren like outbursts of synth mark a break-down where the rhythm quietens and allows a subtle element of sound to break the surface. It all falls back into place with springy phonics and bashing drums which leave no area unmarked with the rhythmic progression.


The final number opens with a distant bell. Up-front breathing mechanicals rumble forward until a crackling electronic surge begins a distinctive rhythm. Cymbals clatter against the flow and various metallic conks add to the flourish. Fast-paced snare rolls in from each corner then a swooping bass drops in in a side to side motion of squashy yet wholesome rhythm. A continual motif plays through the sound in the form of a catchy beat which wants to get everyone on their feet. Huge bass end synths splash their expressive quality across as the tempo is persistently built up like a raging fire. This is Breakism and it's the final track on this smart and highly accessible EP.


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