Psychogeography EP by Archipelago

There was never supposed to be another Archipelago release (what with the name/style change to Archipelago Soundsystem, which in turn became arcx.soux), and yet here we are.

These four tracks were recorded after the two-year long writing cycle of 2023 following the Soundsystem Speed goth dub'z 1.0 super EP but prior to or alongside its annex (J).

The idea was that, having spent so much mental currency on two records which I finally actually liked (but no-one else did?), I wanted to go back to roots to regain a bit of perspective on what to do next. This meant slowing the BPMs down to the 110/120 range, getting back into the psychology/geography mindset which was there every step of the way with Archipelago and focussing on basic little hardware tracks which quietly bounced along, like they did on MMXVI.

«Antón Martín» might be the best example of this, a steady little groover whose rhythm suddenly breaks into something jazzier and more elliptical.

«Nazca lines» wears its love of Italian dream house and aliasing bell sound ambiences on its sleeve, written in a music shop in Kobe trying out a Yamaha EX5 I had found. All of these tracks are pure hardware, by the way.

«Stoned ocean» - forgive the bad pun, I couldn't resist - is the deepest track of the bunch. Where «Antón Martín»'s rhythm dances like fire and «Nazca lines» is pure dust and earth, as the title would suggest this is the aquatic one of the bunch, evocative of slow waves breaking on a shore.

«Sukebesukebo», which is a play on words translating from the Japanese to 'Pervert skateboard', would be the wind element then. The fastest of the bunch at 129 bpm, it harkens back to my young teens spent in skate parks and riding bicycles whilst listening to música bakala (the vocal sample comes from the Skateboard compilation series), my first introduction to electronic music.

There might be more coming - tomorrow never knows - but this is all in celebration of Archipelago's founding in October 2015, just a little bit ahead of the curve. In the meantime, as always, thank you for the support and memories over the period.

XXVI THE WORLD

SoundCloud
arcx.soux
finestylewest