Black Merlin - Distance

20 Dec

The Black Merlin's Distance EP (2023) comes to us on the sublabel of Transmigration Records, the Crystal Ceremony imprint. It again proves why the magician is a master in the dark art. Distance contains a collection of the most entrancing and subterranean cuts to date. They delve through the psyche, delivering concentrated explosions of dancefloor joy. Black Merlin's output has always drifted to the more atmospheric side of techno. Yet, this latest offering cranks things up a notch.

Crystalline drones swell and swirl, allowing the mind to glide away. At the same time, the staunch repetition in the drums demands movement as the groove pulsates throughout the body. Polyrhythms become a central theme throughout as Black Merlin uses them to hypnotise and dazzle, such as in 'Morphik Uniform', which combines perplexing rhythms with all-encompassing atmospherics to absorb listeners into a mesmerising daze. Waves of churning winds wrap around the cochlea, refusing to let go. Black Merlin conjures a black lake and drags the track deeper with every passing moment as you helplessly attempt to find the start of the bassline. On a murkier note, The title track, 'Distance', barrages with tom drums and a sleek kick pattern, bringing ferocity to the dancefloor. The percussion is unrelenting, almost exhausting, without the blistering breaks. The magician blasts the drums through metallic distortion and reverb that contextualises the rest of the track against brutalist bursts of energy. The play between light and dark is exemplified in this cut as Black Merlin perfectly balances the percussion's brutality against the vocals' seductive beauty. A perfect example of less is, most definitely, more.

'Maiko' stands out as bitterly dark hypnosis designed for head-down club movement. The sound design is creepy and cavernous. Black Merlin leaves no room for active thought as ionic bass moves the brain's atoms. The track is a fascinating push and pull into each wonderfully dense kick drum. You'll be hard-pressed to find another track that fits and makes gloomy underground club spaces as transcendent as this one. Rounding out the mind-melting journey is 'Aft_Xt'. Its swampy acid sounds complement the kinetic obliteration of sub-frequencies. It's an astral journey through shimmering swells and cosmic distress in its most beautiful state. Bleeps ring out into the void while gritty metallic percussion dances around the chunky rhythmic thumping. This is a masterclass in bringing atmosphere to the club. The beauty is in the themes of light and dark, push and pull. Listen out for this EP hitting the club.

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