- A label's ethos usually gets easier to grasp once its catalogue gets to a certain size, but something about Dnuos Ytivil remains elusive. Its EPs are stoic and self-contained, full of powerful tracks that resist explosive moments. As an offshoot of a label whose founders came up with dubstep and evolved from there, it's easy to trace Dnuos Ytivil's roots. But the music itself—experimental techno heavy on tonal contrasts, UK-derived polyrhythms and totemic bass—isn't as easy to pin down. Bristol-based producer Via Maris stamps Swarm / Tempora with plenty of Dnuos Ytivil hallmarks, but his own voice doesn't emerge as clearly.
Forceful finger drumming, used in place of a snare, gives "Swarm" a crisp focal point. Its surrounding elements are more ordinary. Sustained bells and spinning glass, introduced serially at various pitches, eventually merge as a needle-thin medley. In a track as cavernous and ripe with possibility as "Swarm," the restraint feels misguided. "Tempora" is bolder. Once the bass pulses through it, the phased vocal snippets that open the track begin to smother what follows. It's intense through headphones, so expect it to feel even more powerful on a dance floor.
TracklistA Swarm
B Tempora