Returning to Plus 8 for the third time, Julian Jeweil’s profile as a contemporary techno titan has continued to grow. The Frenchman is now a firm part of the family and, when not in the studio, can be found owning dancefloors across Europe and beyond, putting to good use the experience he has built up over the last ten years since first emerging.
The EP opens with the titular track, ‘Bastard’ — a rolling, cyclical techno groove with slapping drums and dark, heavily filtered vocal loop. Tension comes from layered, skewed synths that grow louder and louder till breaking down into white noise waves that flood the rest of the mix.
‘Hey You’ has just as firm and rubbery a bottom end, but here the iron-like synths bring a little funk as tiny FX percolate right at the heart of the track. Wholly abstract as ever, all sorts of other aqueous sounds drip in and out, conjuring thoughts of long dark tunnels disappearing deep underground.
On ‘The Gang’ Jeweil lays down a restless, paranoid arrangement that sounds infected by alien space ships as an ominous vocal beams down from above. One synth here triggers another one there, making sure the whole thing is dynamic and filmic in its make-up.
Closing out the EP is ‘Zoulou’, another steely techno stomper over run by alien sounds and non-human noises. Though his techno surely makes you dance, Julian Jeweil also knows how to get the most of his studio equipment and colours his tracks with more than enough detail to keep your mind as active as your feet.
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Artist: Julian Jeweil
Title: Bastard
Catalog#: PLUS8128
Label: PLUS 8 RECORDS
Distribution: Wordandsound, Beatport, m-nus.com
Barcode: 815349011781
Format: 12″, wav, mp3
Digital Release Date: August 15th, 2012
Physical Release Date: August 23th, 2012
TRACKLISTING:
Vinyl
A1: Bastard
AA1: Hey You
A2: The Gang
AA2: Zoulou
Digital
1. Bastard
2. Hey You
3. The Gang
4. Zoulou
5. Kanji
