- Instant Perlon classic.
- Ivan Iacobucci has been plugging away as a working DJ and producer since the early '90s, but it's only in the last few years that he's gotten the attention he deserves. His sound—spacey, strange, swung house—has never really gone out of style, but a 2019 EP on Perlon felt like a breakthrough. That 12-inch, and another that quickly followed, helped propel Iacobucci into a second act with the latest generation of minimal producers. One of them is his partner in life, love and late-night revelry, Stella Fiore. Fiore is no stranger to clubland—like Iacobucci she started DJing in her teens—but Triumph, a collaborative EP also released by Perlon, is her studio debut. Across four tracks, the two touch on off-kilter house, acid and techno, all with that quirky Perlon je ne sais quoi.
The sound design on Triumph is claustrophobic, toeing the line between clearing the dance floor and keeping the punters guessing. The title track could be the end credits to a dystopian B movie. Over swung and sharp drums, minor key synths give way to animal-like vocal samples and creepy chord progressions bleed into a detuned music box melody. "Fear and Madness in the Desert," on the other hand, is like the final rush before a long comedown. (Or, for those of us ageing out of big nights out, that burst of productivity after the 3 PM coffee inevitably leading to an insomniac night at home.) The melody is manic and the samples sound like they were collected from the power tool aisle at Home Depot.
Those tracks are vintage Perlon, but the other two are a bit heavier, flirting with straight-up techno. The first half of "Waiting for My Love" reminded me of some of the bigger tunes in the label's catalogue—think "Bushes"—with a bubbling bassline under exaggerated new beat snare hits. But as the track progresses, the vocal sample pivots from playful to desperate. The edge returns on the acid barnstormer "Close the Door," where the only hints of Perlon's usual mischief are the slightly cartoonish lead synths that come through in fits and starts.
Perlon may be forever associated with wonky minimal, but the German label has never been afraid to branch out. Thumbing through the label's discography, it's surprising how many curveballs there are (who else remembers when Shackleton paid a visit) as well as punts taken on lesser-known producers, such as Binh or Chris Korda. Triumph sits up there with the best of them. And, as the name suggests, it's a victory lap for the two producers, a career high for Iacobucci and, even more exciting, a very promising start for Fiore.
TracklistA1 Triumph
A2 Waiting For My Love
B1 Close The Door
B2 Fear And Madness In The Desert