It's that time again, when crazily solid Russian underground dons Square Harmony drop the fire on us once more, this time from Stiver, who's based in The City of Seven Hills, Istanbul. However, this EP, 'Insignia' is heavily indebted to the underground of the UK, and it's seemingly influenced just as much by the insistent basslines of Pinch and Mala as the disintegrating drums of Burial.
This one is a three-track release, including two collaborations with Gantz. The original piece from Stiver, 'Whatever' is a bleak, deconstructed piece of darkness on the more garage-y (read: interesting) side of dubstep, the menace only broken by an occasional lassez-faire vocal sample, while the first of the two tracks featuring Gantz, 'Rough Vision' is a bouncy, subtle slab of straight up UK Garage. The title of the third track alone sums it up, 'Dead Dance' is exactly that, an eerie, tribal affair that brings the EP to an abrupt end, to the sound of a fading signal.
Special shout to Olga from Square Harmony for her artwork, which does a lot to set a scene for the releases. Really atmospheric stuff, and good artwork is something that I think can go unnoticed in the digital age.
Grab it from May 30th on their Bandcamp page.
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