- Befitting of his new home on Perc Trax, Ekoplekz's Westerleigh Works is the closest the experimental producer has come to "beats" after inching closer and closer with each release. We're still not quite there yet, however; the EP (named after an engineering plant in Bristol) courses with the same analogue electricity as the rest of the early industrial-influenced Perc catalogue, but it also has the erraticism of Ekoplekz material. Regardless, "Ekoplatz" has the distinction of being quite possibly the most accessible Eko song yet, shooting off scorched globs of distortion from an unstable foundation of bass malfunctions. (Still doesn't sound very friendly, eh?) "Narco Samba" is a more propulsive take on material similar to his Intrusive Incidentalz album, its frayed electrics spilling out into vats of acid and striking some uncomfortably resonant frequencies in the process."Xylem Teardrops," meanwhile, turns low-end sputter into something resembling a breakbeat while Edwards fashions a melody out of industrial creaks.
If there's been any one thread of influence traceable from Edwards' convoluted muck, it's Cabaret Voltaire, and founding member of that legendary band Richard H Kirk is tapped here for a remix of "Ekoplatz." The result sounds like a mixture of Ekoplekz and Voltaire, trapping Edwards' jiggling thrombosis in the confines of a lightweight, shuffling beat. It's a meeting of musical minds that must be a dream for Edwards, and a fitting end to a year that's seen nothing but further greatness get choked out of those old synths of his.
TracklistA1 Ekoplatz
A2 Narco Samba
B1 Ekoplatz (Richard H Kirk Remix)
B2 Xylem Teardrops