Fis “Preparations”

25 Nov 2013 — Christopher Sabbath

Drum & bass shouldn’t always be taken so literally upon first impression. Just ask Olly Peryman, a.k.a. Fis, whose claustrophobic, sawtooth take on the genre has made him one of the more standout technicians of New Zealand’s d&b scene. Hot on the heels of Peryman’s sparse, recorded output for Samurai Horo and Exit Records comes Preparations, an EP that puts an interesting spin on electronic music with its cold, micro-rhythmic experimentations.

In amongst a blur of rhythmical unleash and scamper is bleak excursions that sound like machines ripping apart the linear surface and reattaching the limbs elsewhere in places unimagined. During “CE Visions,” the bass-riddled percussion stomps and spews while the exterior elements echoing amongst the fray sound cutting and burnt to a crisp. From an outside vantage, its gelid facade looks rather frightening to step into. Ditto “DMT Usher,” a track previously issued on vinyl through the Samurai Horo imprint, with its crumbling and jittery, seesaw ripple that spirals like a jet engine in idle. While only comprised of four tracks, Preparations brief onslaught is one that leaves the door open for other possibilities, with its abstract vision and unhinged execution being a welcoming innovation for both the electronic and experimental spectrums.

Pick up a copy of Preparations from Brooklyn's Tri-Angle Records here. In the meantime, you can check out "DMT Usher" below.