Tuesday 20 December 2016

30drop. Unusual Extremes EP


This is a special limited edition red vinyl release from the Barcelona artist 30drop, to mark its second anniversary. There aren’t many techno artists who explicitly discuss the social and cultural context of their work, or who so clearly emphasise the conceptual aspects of their work,  but this is intrinsic to the way 30drop operates as an artist and as a label. Although the title doesn’t illustrate it, this unreleased track and remix still bear traces of the cosmic techno tropes in its previous work.



’Unusual Extremes’ opens with a brief percussive impact, then runs straight into a quite sinister and subtly icy sequence that comes to haunt the track. If this does represent some sort of cosmic journey, it’s a colder one than many Detroit artists would offer. Detroit may be an influeunce, but there are only frozen, intensely filtered traces of Detroitian harmonic warmth and optimism and the track works all the better as a result.




The Black Dog Remix has a tougher start, rapidly creating a very serious and intense atmosphere. The main innovations the Sheffield duo bring to bear are an uncanny, morphing drone, minimalistic acid sweeps and some subtly sharpened percussion. The result is a forceful and compelling remix that takes the original further into the uncharted territory it was assigned to explore.

30drop. Unusual Extremes EP
12″ Vinyl // Digital – December 16th 2016
30D-005