Geiom, Various - Wiglfex EP1

DJ and producer Spam Chop has been running the Wigflex night in Nottingham for a few years now, making clued up ravers
jump and twist to some of the weirdest, most fucked up and cutting edge electronic music around. The Wigflex ethos is essentially
“keep it unpredictable (and fun)”, with a soundtrack ranging from dubstep, tech haus and techno to bleep hop, wonky
bumps and, well, pretty much anything else. That unpredictability has been carried over brilliantly into this EP, the first release
on the newly-minted Wigflex label. Representing the pick-n-mash feel of both the club and Spam Chop's barnstorming DJ
sets, the four tracks here all mix a wide range of influences from within and outside of electronic dance music to create oddball
anthems that you can rave or relax to. Whatever you like – techno, dubstep, garage, IDM, chocolate mice or sherbet filled flying
saucers – there'll be something to like on this EP.
Kicking off is the mighty Geiom with ‘Lame Car’, an intricate and restlessly inventive vintage synth and sub-bass workout, as
full of energy and sparky excitement as the dusty rave tunes its opening piano stabs seem to refer to. The Berkane Sol label
head has been making waves internationally over the last couple of years with a string of forward-looking releases, and ‘Lame
Car’ is an impressive addition to his production CV, driven hard by a funky engine and the same sweet balance of rhythmic
science and melodic infection that has characterised Kode9’s recent cuts.
Maintaining these levels of depth and atmospherics is Metaphi with ‘The More I Know Her’, in which a warping robotic hook
and bouncy two-step drums thread through delicately layered chimes and melodic touches en route to a burst of brass that will
have even the dingiest dancefloor ready to start a carnival. This is the first release under the Metaphi flag for the skwee protagonist
Metske, known for previous outings on Harmonia and Flogsta Danshall.
Next up, part man / part machine Hizatron plots a darker and twisted path with ‘Schlupinski’, a rubberised techno monster
built around a relentless and sinister bass synth refrain, with nerve-jangling, pulse-quickening, limb-animating bleeps, clicks,
percussive ticks and taps dancing and chirruping on top of it like goblins on Bald Mountain. It’s minimal Jim, but not as we
know it.
The parting shot is Taylor’s eerie stomper ‘Jangle Fuss’, which keeps up the techno theme established by Hizatron but takes it
into altogether more fidgety and fractured zones. Taylor used to play guitar in a prog rock band, and his love affair with delay
pedals endures in a production style that can only be described as “reem”.
Already a regular pull-up for selectors like Appleblim, 2562, Pangaea and Max Cooper, the Wigflex EP is pegged for a tune of
the month review in IDJ, and plenty more coverage is in the works.

Be the first to review this record. Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!