the black dog - riphead ep
tracklisting : ripheadv2, gawble vianag, mental ward sleep machine
following on from last years superb return with the silenced album on dust science, the expanded dogsquad crew are now releasing this latest record through the highly regarded scottish soma records label. having never heard anything else on soma i have no idea how the deep sonics that the black dog excel at, fits in with the rest of the labels roster. all i can say is that opening track, ripheadv2 is a fantastic pumped up 4/4 beat filled monster, that drives the woofers hard, yet still manages to maintain the usual air of mystery and beauty that is the calling card of the dog for a perfect 7 minutes. no-one (except maybe richard h. kirk of course !) else makes ambient techno sound as special as this lot do in 2006. weird track names are expected within this world of machines and maths equations, so forgive me if track 2 befuddles you as much as me, however, this is a hard hitting dense track, with a dark evil atmosphere dominating. the sharp machine/type writer noise gives me throwback to an old amiga 1200 game, 'alien breed', in which you basically fought rather unpleasant hr geiger styled monsters. perhaps this mental association provides the reason why this 6 minute broody ambient piece sends a genuine chill up my spine, to such a degree, that when a recognisable beat does eventually begin the relief is palpable. not one for the dancefloors, but a warning for those that suffer nightmares should be given on the sleeve.
finally, to calm the nerves, there is the 'mental ward sleep machine' that bizarrely does exactly as it says on the tin. warm ambient electronica, albeit in a very dense dubbed up bass-noir fashion with a wonderfully simple bleep styled melody, this is by far the best track on the ep, that will wipe away the cold sweat and make you feel at ease with your environment once again. stunning stuff.
so, despite my own personal discomfort, i still regard this as classic technology based music, and recommend you track this ep down as a matter of urgency.