Inch Time - Aurora

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Press release

4...according to our Brett on Thu 04 Mar, 2010.

I initially stuck this one on at the wrong speed and was fully ready to extoll the virtues of its satisfying dubbiness when Ant came over and ruined it all by speeding it up. Well I guess he didn't really since it's still dead tidy with its relaxed grooves, warm synths and gentle clicks. Electronica of this kind can so easily fall into the 'chillout' trap and come out sounding dog tired in this day and age but there's absolutely no danger of that here, largely because of the finesse in the production and the genuine soul that's infused throughout but also because of the slight hints of intrigue, both in the melodies and the very slightly more dissonant sounds which appear in the background from time to time. It's a fine object too, being a lovely 180g pressing inside a super tasteful sleeve. Only the 500 copies mind..

Inch-time is Stefan Panczak, a London-based Australian with a penchant for multi-textured electronica. After a string of releases including two full-length albums, and curating the Teaism compilation also on Static Caravan, as well as sound tracking the latest National Express advertisement comes this twelve-inch with five new tracks and a spoonful of jazz-tinged melodic nous. The creeping, nocturnal title track bubbles with a dark intensity, its brooding sensibility at odds with the clicks and whirrs which skitter throughout on this stately slice of icy electronica. An echo-laden dub version is even more eerily atmospheric and reminiscent of Robin Saville, if he was organising his garden tools in the shed on the night of a full moon. The sprightly ‘Crystal Visions’ provides contrast, being feather-light and wafted along by crinkled beats, though there’s still an insidious feel lurking in the background, before briefly floating into the realms of exotica in a way that would surely have pleased Martin Denny. Meanwhile, ‘A Handful of Dust’ takes swirling, repeated melody patterns to craft a quietly precise composition, sculpting sounds to form a beautifully layered concoction of rhythms, twanging guitar and a host of otherworldly sounds. ‘Suspended’ twinkles with barely-concealed malice, its minute-long running time feeling like an extended intro to one of Tortoise’s more lugubrious excursions. Pattering rhythms duel with ghostly bass, all anchored by a chiming melody which coils tightly before fading out to reach a hushed climax. 12” vinyl pressing ltd to 500 copies, once again housed in a Roy Ananda designed sleeve. Edition of 500 12” singles pressed on 180gm wax

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