Say

Following on from a release-packed 2021, Infinite Machine are back with a new 4-track offering from the relative newcomer, Aroent. Across 3 new original cuts (plus a rework by UK dance royalty, Ploy) the Berlin-based producer delivers some serious rollers crammed full of gnarly drumwork and a pervasive air of unease. Like the strange, abstract creature of the record artwork, the music of Say EP is an amorphous beast, mixing the dense arrangements/layering of 90s IDM records with the off-kilter and swung beats of UK Techno and Funky.

The EP opens with its title track; a whirl of snaps, claps and phantom samples all firmly underpinned by an acid-inflected bassline. Aroent embracing of chance and luck in his compositions is evident on this track, throwing in idiosyncratic automations and randomizers to grow and evolve the tune over its 5 minute duration. The vox samples (stolen from Breaking Bad) seem to decay and fall inwards on each other on 'Say', as if the song is soundtrack to a decaying and corrupted society (not dissimilar to Heisenberg's).

On 'Rolling Oddities', Aroent's love for the Bristol bass & techno scene really shines through clearly. A track that seems almost built for a spinny night that rolls on until the morning, the song really does what it says on the tin with its combination of driving, rhythmic elements and it's smattering of pretty out-there decisions in terms of arrangement and sound processing. This is a definite must-listen tune for fans of Batu, Lurka or Hodge.

Next up, 'Bobcat' takes things in a slightly more buoyant and ecstatic direction with its ever-rising filters and muted percussion that seems like it's dancing along on tip-toes. On this song especially, Aroent's genre-agnostic approach to production is abundantly obvious with elements of techno and bass sitting alongside kick drums that wouldn't feel out of place on some Jersey Club tracks.

Ploy brings up the rear on Say EP with a ferocious 'Skeletal Tool remix' of the releases' title track. Taking a reductionist approach to his rework, the Timedance signee strips out some of the originals' more hyperbolic or dramatic elements and reduces it to a polyrhythmic, semi-genreless heater. Seriously - you try and pin this edit down to a single 'genre label', I dare you!

Despite the small number of releases to his name, Say EP is a highly confident and well-realized offering from the Greek-born, Berlin-based producer. In a way, Aroent is already creating his own sonic signature that lifts and interpolates aspects across the UK Bass spectrum and turns it into something totally unique. This is music that lurks in the shadows of warehouse clubs.