Anastasia Kristensen – Cordyceps Disco
Cordyceps Disco is the new EP by Anastasia Kristensen, released on Absorb Emit in late 2023. Cordyceps Disco is rougher and more ready than I would have expected. Bathed in rave sensibilities and with enough space to let the acoustics of a big room sing, this latest EP feels like it would be the soundtrack to late-90s and early-2000s vampire parties. These are the parties you'd see in the Wesley Snipes Blade films. Dazzling strobes, a steady stream of blood flowing out of the sprinkler system, and this EP is banging into the early hours.
No, it's not just listening to a rehash of 90s rave with a bit of a gothic twist. The whole record sounds like it's been honed over centuries. The drums are designed like crashing boulders while the creak of a Transylvanian corridor drenches each cut. Anastasia Kristensen intercuts robotic vocals alongside piercing howls and distant sirens on the title track, Cordyceps Disco, to draw attention to a horrific juxtaposition of admiration, fear, and sadism. Unnatural moans load the background of 'Practise of menace' while violent drums pepper the foreground. The percussive rhythms on 'irregularity' rumble with a no-nonsense approach to some writing, allowing for these little flourishes of spoken word and satanic rustling. 'All At Once' depicts a dangerous descent into darkness. This is also the most hypnotic track on the release. Sub-basses hum countless echoing reflections, both organic and artificial build. Anastasia Kristensen has crafted an avant-garde big-room techno EP sure to please the cyber-goths and rave-slaves while keeping those touching storytelling elements.
Tracklist:
Cordyceps Disco
Practise of menace
irregularity
All At Once
Label:
Anastasia Kristensen – Cordyceps Disco