Kuedo - Work, Live & Sleep In Collapsing Space (12" vinyl)

A good day for some I’m sure as Kuedo returns with his first new cut since the ‘Severant’ LP. In fact, ‘Work, Live & Sleep In Collapsing Space’ originates from the same sessions and I’m surprised it didn’t make the final cut as it’s a banger of a tune.

‘Work, Live & Sleep In Collapsing Space’ is very much in the ‘Severant’ vein - totally powerful, emotive synth work coupled with strangely scattershot hi-hat patterns, rich bass and that fast-but-slow tempo he’s so fond of working with. Worth noting that this is a little more intense than the ‘Severant’ material with the all guns blazing from the get-go and some mad percussive additions giving it a slightly industrial-futuro feel that is truly CinemaScope in scale...and the synth work is also reminiscent of everyone's favourite electronic composer, the big man on campus - Mr. G. Moroder. Ultra tough futuristic business!

If that wasn’t a treat enough the A-side also features a Laurel Halo mix, which, as you can imagine, is pretty tight. Halo strips it right back with warm filtering and the addition of pizzicato strings that are fast becoming a regular feature of her work. It’s so bubbly and claustrophobic I gotta drop aqua-dub into the mix as the most accurate way to describe the muddy, pressurised vibe of it.

Flip it and Claude Speed hits us with a full reworking of the original track, building from a cacophony of ambient strings, rolling arpeggios and beatless percussion into a frenzy of live drums and synths that rivals the energy of the original cut. The intro is pure Vangelis but by the end it’s hard not to think of Zombi with those pounding rock beats playing off a whirlwind of synths and rugged pulsing bassline.

Man this is a sweet 12”. Check it people. I’m getting one now before it’s too late.