Image by: Crowds
Crouds formed in 2017, pursuing the declared goal of playing superior club sets. They dropped their debut “Cabin Pressure” in 2020 on Neuzeit Records. Another EP on Intumi and remixes for Truncate and Ben Haviour followed the same year. Andreas Schuller and Jay Nagel are part of the splendid Sonic Ground Kollektiv, which – outside of Covid times – stages regular workshops, streamings and club nights. For RFR they collaborated with Max Delius. From this liaison the sizzling debut track “Larking” arose. Max Delius also is a member of the Sonic Ground Kollektiv and moreover known as part of the live-techno project “Numpad”
“No Service“ starts the round dance and comes straight to business. Bass is king – magnificently rumbling breakbeats, caressed by ambient sounds in the background. A couple of scanner sounds and distorted drone effects – voila, it’s a banger!
“My Mind is a Knife“ unfolds considerably calmer. A straight, slow-downed beat, electronica and ambient tones now dominate the foreground. Compared to the opener it’s like the second infusion of a green tea: Less edges, but more opulence in the fine nuances.
“Ruff Stuff” embodies everything that we love about techno. Straightforwardness without letting versatility slip. Here again the characterising melodic patterns, which stand out for Crouds. Sounds like a spontaneous live set by Christian Vogel and Robert Hood who coincidentally ran into each other at the club. Nice track!
“Larking” combines the best of crouds and Max Delius. Broken beats, in this case arranged more minimally and accompanied by rather abstract sounds. Darker, more mechanical and with significant references to early UK hardcore. A touch of melody at the end sticks true to the blueprint of this EP and finishes this RFR release.
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