Zenker the elder debuts on The Trilogy Tapes with four unapologetic pieces of atmospheric, driving, funk-filled on a release which ranges from the crisp and clean to the scuzzy and partially realized. With his and brother Mario’s Ilian Tape label getting some long-overdue recognition courtesy of a recent Resident Advisor label of the month feature, the Zenkers are currently riding the crest of a machine-funk filled wave.
Which is nicely underlined by the four pieces on this subtly varied EP. Taking the wonderfully layered ‘Morsin’ as the point of departure, the beats are dampened and undulating, the dominant, jagged synth floats over the top, while the percussion is both marked and ghostly. The breakbeat in ‘W3’ makes the transition from tribal murmurings to a dust-shrouded insistent battery, but is a paradigm shift from the title track. ‘WM2’ is arguably the paciest piece here, but its brittle, almost cloying sound keeps it in check, something which is also in evidence in the ominous ‘Banded’ which never gets out of second gear, but subtly adjusts its mass in order to progress.
From start to finish what characterizes this release is a haze of sound which is deployed regularly across the four compositions, and adapts itself to whatever it has to. There’s always something slightly disturbing going on in an area which feels just beyond the listener’s range and a general air of mystery which raises this release above the stereotypical.
Dario Zenker - Morsin EP on The Trilogy Tapes
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Our rating: 8/10
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