FURS – ANTI-NODE [DBOY10]

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Anti-Node is the name of the debut EP from the up-and-coming producer FURS. As a producer, FURS blurs genre lines through the mashing of musical styles, and filtering the techniques of classical, jazz, hip-hop and bass music through computer based synthesis and production methods. Glistening FM synthesis and rumbling sub bass sets the tone for this down-tempo, dark, IDM record from Detroit Underground’s new dBoy imprint, a collaboration between DetUnd and eBoy™, the German based international design group behind the “8-bit” graphics found on the cover of each dBoy release.

The Anti-Node EP starts off with the title track. A heaving layering of detailed and morphing FM synths that range from shimmering melodies to heavy and full bass that organically modulates and shifts, a contrast to the laser snares and tight percussion (made on the Machinedrum from Elektron and Reaktor, giving the rhythm section a full and complex sound). The composition is nuanced, rhythmic and expressive in the style and tradition of romantic era pianists like Ravel and Chopin, with a futuristic touch.

Jimmy Edgar adds his signature sound to the EP with his remix of Anti-Node. Pounding drums and a sultry vocal sample get your head bobbing, while the intricate and nuanced production will have your mind trying to keep up. Jimmy brings his particular brand of neo-funk-IDM-R&B with the kind of meticulous production that got him on labels like Warp Records, Detroit Underground and !K7.

Shame, the second track on the EP, contains more of the prevalent FM synthesis, though this time there is a stretched out cadence to the rhythm. Sweeping synths carry the melody while half tempo post-dubstep percussion slowly moves the track forward. A portion of the song contains drum loops by FURS that have been manipulated in MaxMSP with algorithms and randomization, giving the percussion an element of “chance composition”, working in the tradition of modernist composers like John Cage, making the track more affectual and organic.

Suck is an electro-inspired dance track that puts a contemporary twist on the grooves of times gone by. The modulating synth line that runs throughout the track is reminiscent of IDM artists like The Tuss and AFX. The instrumentation comes from Max4Live manipulations of FM synth lines and chopped samples from CR78 and TR-707 drum machines with driving bass and percussion from the Machinedrum and Reaktor.

Freezy, the final track on the EP is a kind of throwback to the heavily reverberated and FM synth laden production of the ’80s and ’90s, though a stormy synth rumbles and surges throughout the composition. The Machinedrum brings in some new-school claps and hats, keeping the groove going, while a complex percussion synth, resembling a stretched hide hand drum, brings an organic rhythm to the track.

ENV(itre)’s remix of Anti-Node is a spacey mix that re-imagines the melodies and heavy percussion of the original into a glitched out IDM dreamscape that lets the mind wonder, then pulls it right back with granular, stretched out and manipulated samples that will make your ears do a double-take.

Jesse Somfay delivers a smooth but potent mix of hard hitting techno with an overwhelming wash of shoegaze production in this remix of Anti-Node. The depth of the sound is seemingly endless and the pounding techno rhythms are an entrancing light that guides you deeper into this tunnel of sound.

FURS w/ midiNES + monome 40h + Ableton from Stephen Surlin on Vimeo.

BOOMKAT™ REVIEW:

Complex IDM composition from Detroit Underground’s newest recruit, Furs. Over four tracks of glistening melodies, meticulously arranged beats and a mixture of warm analog and crisp digital textures he marks himself out as a distinguished talent, especially on the dark neon blue vibes of ‘Shame’. Of the remixes we’d recommend checking Jesse Somfay’s galloping ‘Mercury Lattice’ remix and Jimmy Edgar’s gangsta IDM remix.

Read full review of Anti-Node – Furs / ENV(itre) / Somfay / Jimmy Edgar on Boomkat.com ©