Albert van Abbe - Broken Cymbals

Throughout 2015's Broken Cymbals EP, a lush atmosphere is created, with a focus on fuzzed-out chords that are reminiscent of basic channel yet hark back to bands like My Bloody Valentine. These are Machine meditation that shows a nuanced understanding not just of texture within sound but also of electronic composition. Obviously, the link to Dub Culture is worn with pride through cascading reverbs and mind-warping swells, but Van Abbe also exhibits an intense understanding of minimalism and restraint. Broken Cymbals' central experiment is to utilise only the same fundamental sounds, and through this rigidity, Van Abbe allows creativity to flourish.

Broken Cymbals 01 builds groggy tones that oscillate and rumble grey matter like an electric toothbrush in jelly, as whispered horns add a breathy texture to the track's slow pulsation. This expression of minimalism is broken down and rebuilt throughout each subsequent meditation. Broken Cymbals 02 faints stagnancy through staccato elements, but it's kept fresh by a galloping subbase and a slowly evolving palette. Van Abbe emphasises years of experimentation, but also riveting dance-music expertise, with tight adherence to rhythm and an overwhelmingly light, angelic feel. Broken Cymbals 03 breaks the mould of the previous two by allowing the expensive horns to fully envelop the composition. Van Abbe pushes the sounds further and further until they warble and crack under their own pressure. Subtle red spikes and sharpness that make this the most human experience thus far. This track gives itself over to the haunting teaching of William Basinski's minimalist loops, and the effect is chilling.

Broken Cymbals 04 offers a fresh take on call-and-response. Van Abbe uses silky modulation to elicit this pumping sensation, much like waves crashing on the shore. Out with the unrelenting pounding of a deep drum, you get a track that builds off the inherent coldness of electronic music, only to swell with warmth. Now for something a bit more dubby, Broken Cymbals 06 keeps things super subdued. Horns and strings are filtered to create a gorgeous base layer, on which dub influences resurface. There is a nasally hum that marauds across the record's runtime, harkening back to those old analogue desks.

Van Abbe shows a side of dance music and electronic music that some people seem to shy away from. Instead of hoarding libraries of plug-ins and countless samples, he elevates his music through considered choice, melodic subtraction and an uncompromised vision for his sound. You often hear artists talk about stripping back the process and that creativity comes from self-imposed restrictions. Well, this is a perfect case study for that very notion. Superb work.

Label: Semantica Records (2015)

Albert van Abbe - Broken Cymbals