Elusive techno silhouette Yaleesa Hall drops three new ones for their very own label Will & Ink. High-tempo techno and electro with the occasional sprinkling of EBM essence, this trio of tunes are as jackhammery as they are dreamy, with ‘Newman’ providing the gloomy foretaste; ‘Shanks’ the dreamy, electrified meat-on-the-bone; and ‘Williams’ the rapturous coda. Forever pushing the envelope, Hall hits with rapid fire, synth heavy techno to glitching, low-end electro and atmospheric electronica.
Amsterdam based artist and creative technologist Andeh Lang is back on Will & Ink. After debuting on this label in August 2016 with an uncredited black label, he now serves up three more tracks that show off his interest in shaping and sculpting sounds for the main imprint. All these tracks were created with his own custom made software and self-programmed audio algorithms. Three experimental techno excursions that go by the name of ‘Susskind’ showcase a wide variety of deserted techno landscaping by a creative mastermind.
Will & Ink label hits release number eight with a debut collaborative effort from Yaleesa Hall and Malin Genie. ‘First Lucas’ is a tough, abstract kicker with industrial sound design and weird synths the only accompaniment to a monstrous, earth moving kick drum. Truly hypnotic and all consuming it is followed by a brief bit of dark interlude music before ‘Second Lucas’ pairs ghoulish sounds with well swung wood block hits and watery pads. It is a forceful groove full of occult atmosphere and lastly ‘Third Lucas’ is again about solid kick drums and freaky sound design. Here squelchy synths and frazzled lines all dart about as hunched kicks stomp out a macho groove below.
The Will & Ink label now hits release number 5 with an EP from Amsterdam and Paris based producer Malin Genie, that features two new cuts and a remix from Yaleesa Hall. With a keen sense of heritage but one eye on the future, here he serves up two more intense and floor focussed cuts. The first is ‘Deorbital Descent’, a turbo charged and hard hitting techno track with overdriven kicks, big daubs of synthy hook and a real sense of urgency. The claps are hard as you like, and the drums are no less menacing, so think peak time warehouse tackle and you’ll not be far wrong. Next up, ‘Agaric Fly’ is a much more stripped back and down low techno roller with hubby chords, groaning bass and rubbery kicks that seduce and hypnotise. The remix comes from Yaleesa Hall, who has released a solo EP on the label before now. The resulting track is a fulsome, scurrying techno affair with edgy stabs, hurried drums and a real sense of foreboding.
Will & Ink, a new label and production duo of the same name. Well, they aren’t really new, because individually Will & Ink are Dutchmen with many musical projects to their names. Now those first tracks get an official release in the form of this three track Fermat EP. The opening track, First Fermat is a well swung, cantering techno groove with swinging hi hats and the sandiest of hits peeling off the top. The percussion and metallic rattles sound like nothing else and all in all it’s one of the most infectious warehouse styled tracks you are likely to hear. Second Fermat recalls the releases of Fachwerk and is built on the same bubbly, grip-y drums and clattering rhythm sections, but this time a dark, filtered vocal lurks in the middle to add an element of intensity and paranoia amongst the spangled synths. Finally, Third Fermat is a little more stripped back. The textures are still sandy and rough edged, the beats still seem to lean into a stiff wind but here the hook is a frazzled, blistered little synth which tears up the middle of the track, hypnotising as it goes.
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