The promise of 2017 being Electro’s year is one that we get incredibly excited about as releases by the likes of DMX Krew, DJ Stingray, and Plant 43 have given us a fair few reasons to get our hopes up. Perpetuated in the margins however, Electro has always been a constant, going through phases, where it might grab the attention of a fair few tastemakers, but feigns the popularity altogether to remain the shadowy weird figure it’s always been in club music’s social circles. It’s DIY ideology and machine aesthetic makes it a firm favourite for music nerds, and has given us a fair few labels and producers, operating under the surface of it all, happy to catch the ear of some like-minded folks without actively seeking appraisal.
EOD is such an artist. The artistic pseudonym of Kristiansand producer Stian Kjevik, has seen given the world a substantial taste of his music via labels like Rephlex and CPU, upholding that nebulous disposition of this music and its practitioners. He arrives in 2017 with and album via WeMe records, a 3LP affair which explores the boundaries of Electro, but which easily move into areas of Techno and Acid without hesitation.
For the most part EODS is crafted from a melodically informed musical disposition that swathes striped-back machine percussion with layers of foggy harmonics and spatial melodic motifs. The DIY ideology is accounted for, offering whispers of tape hiss and live improvised electronics as obvious hints to the artist’s working methods. Energetic tempos are impeded from being boisterous with tranquil sonic atmospheres juxtaposing the gait of rhythmic sections. At times, in the more obscure tracks, we get hints of Aphex Twin, and to EODS and electro album would be wrong, even if it makes up a large part of the album. It adopt much of Electro’s template, but unlike previous EP’s from the artist it is much more flexible.