Theories of Anxiety

The latest missive from Aisha Devi's Danse Noire, continues in step with the Swiss label's adventurous spirit adding release to their steadily growing catalog (El Mahdy Jr, Aisha Devi, Vaghe Stelle) operating on the fringes of rhythm-driven sound system musics and transcendental auditory experiences. Their next release comes by way of IVVVO (Public Information, Opal Tapes, Fourth Wave), whose exquisitely scraped up sonic explorations and tape-warped techno/house mutations unfold with intoxicatingly knotty arrangements, queasy atmospheres, and unhurried minor-key motifs that unveil and retreat back into the shadows. IVVVO's latest 'Theories of Anxiety' hisses and haunts - vacillating between head-turning vignettes and peak time moments for the freest of club audiences. The techno stomp of "Fear" snakes it's way through the labyrinthine arrangement and flange-twisted atmospheres. The unhinged "So Much" hobbles towards the finish line crutching broken-sounding Trax-era rhythms, while "Redux" centers around a dark arabesque melody and futuristic tribal drum track. The tilting gauziness of the record's deep centerpiece "Consumed" subtly injects ghostly pitched-up volces into a sea of swells that both soar and growl.