emptyset

emptyset

Caravan

2009-11-09

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• (Member — 0 votes)

Experimenting and exploring techno music is the drive behind Bristol duo emptyset’s sound, inspired by their city’s bass lead production and detail sound design. Veering away from simple hooks or the obvious 4/4 beat that pleases dancefloors, their brand of techno borders on the electronica of esteem acts such as Autechre and Boards of Canada, and, at times, the dubstep of Flying Lotus and Burial. Such ambition can be heard on this eponymous debut, though it is rarely accessible and becomes a far too alienating experience to be appreciated in the way its creators might hope.

Would have benefited from more testing before release.

From the first track, “Aleph”, emptyset make it clear they will not make it easy for the listener. Somewhere between ambiance and drone, a warble of atmospherics is all they hand you to grasp onto. “Gate 1” introduces a steady beat as hisses and clicks meld for more brooding ahead of “Gate 2” with its bleeps and industrial sounds. The duo drop sudden waves of sound or breakaway from a tight metronome-like order to their music to break proceedings up, but are generally very regimented with the way their music will set a pace and style, then stick very much to it. “Completely Gone” is the most accessible track here as a funky edge gives it far more character than any other tune here, a far way from the inverting “Beyond 2” and distorted “Gate 4” which do their best to have you reach for the skip button.

emptyset desperately want to be seen as a top electronica act, echoing many of the Warp Records’ rosta of artists. They struggle as they don’t have the spiky nature of Clark, the inventiveness of Autechre or the subtlety of Boards of Canada. Their  bass-heavy techno drone has been carefully crafted by it’s creators, yet it’s hard to get a handle on exactly what they expect the common listener to get out of their sound. Their experimental stylings would have benefited from more testing before release.