IIOIOIOII - Reflect

Maybe one of the hardest projects to pronounce, or Google, is Chris Gurney's IIOIOIOII. Hailing from the USA, Reflect is one of two releases (the second being the awkwardly titled "IIO" EP). Dedicated readers will already have picked up on the fact that I handpicked this project for series 1 of my "Familiarity Breeds Contempt" Mixtape series. Let's take a look at why.

'Reflect' starts with "Consume". Littered with bell-like sequences (I'm a sucker for the use of Bells), it's a delicate track fusing Ambience with Industrial. I tend to shy away from use of words like "Haunting", but there's a gorgeous undertone weaving throughout this endeavour that's more than enjoyable. It's a very vocoder-heavy track, but acts such as DYM and FutureFrenetic have shown us recently just how powerful the Vocoder can be when used well.

I think it's really important to understand that the project isn't conventional Industrial in anyway - I'm convinced this was what Gurney attempted to prove with the project name too. "The Reasons Why" is an exercise in bouncy and original music. It's one of those that I really like - and would listen to over and over - although not technically ingenious, it's a clever and perky piece.

In fact, this track is a product of rewarding and patient minds. Like a Lamb Shoulder, it simmers for a while and falls apart nicely, leaving a flavorful taste on your pallette. In fact, this is definitely the Slow Cooker of the Electronica kitchen. While the tracks are slow to build up, they reveal their secrets over their duration - and actually, these compositions are delivered with originality and inspiration in aplomb.

I don't know - my headache here is that this style of Intelligent music is lost to the masses - indeed, it's sad to say that the critics are often right. People seldom want to evolve and think, they just want to dance and fuck everything around them - which shrouds a shadow of sadness over this entire mission - for me, there's something here that although may not be worthy of a sandwich board proclaiming any new "saviour", there's a passion and delicacy carved into these tracks that it's not too easy to find these days.

Dark and brooding, yet also coherent and friendly. A release that may go down as an undocumented favourite by many a listener. I hope so. Sep 04 2013