Alkemiisto II by Coppice Halifax
About six months overdue after being drafted for the release of Deep Earth: Year Two's conclusion, Alkemiisto II finally lands and offers seven adaptations of the Deep Earth sound, organic and vibrant beneath the monochromatic palette. Opening the set is a slow-burn melodic techno version from Mosca, an analog hardware producer from Scotland, who brings possibly the most tuneful sound to the series thus far with his mix. Following this is a heavy Zwei Kreise dub of Marais, originally released as part of South Sentral Positronix and then an expanded single. It felt appropriate to include this stellar mix here because Marais was in fact the first Deep Earth session that ended up excluded from the series in favor of Ritmo En Fokuso. Time For Trees continues with a spacious techno groove that churns along beneath peppered textures and paint-splatter chords, which gives way to the first of two Substak mixes. The Phaseout mix contains a monstrous low-end, as Substak is fond of sculpting, and it builds an adequate tension toward the slow-motion flower field of the DeepWarmth rebuild, which feels distinctly calm despite the somewhat faster tempo beneath it. Bookending the DeepWarmth mix is the second Substak version, aptly labeled Endless Drone - a full bodied wall of warmth with a near-constant anchor of sub-bass rhythms. Closing the album is Alkemiisto II's longest mix, a live reconstitution of Verbotempo by Occur (the hardware improvisation duo of John-Paul Kramer and Brian Grainger). Using the very same machines, patterns, sequences and FX units that produced the original Verbotempo alongside metal percussion, piezo microphones and feedback, Occur guide their sonic vessel through the blackness, toward unfathomable depths, isolation and certain madness.
Tracklist
Credits
Written by Brian Grainger. Produced and remixed by the credited artists. Mastered by The Analog Botanist at White Pillar Workshop, January 2018. Cover photography by Brian Grainger. This is Milieu Music number RIPETIS 6. © + ℗ Milieu Music, 2018. All rights reserved.
