Buttechno, Triš - The Spirit
The esoteric duo of Buttechno and Triš have been on my radar ever since I stumbled upon the In You Head album of 2023. Since then, it would be an understatement to say I've been enamoured with the output of both. Now, while Buttechno's output definitely resonates more with my musical sensibilities, the combination of the two artists fills me with an overwhelming sense of catharsis. It's almost as though disparate elements of my musical upbringing have slowly come into a focused expression of art. With shades of grunge and Stoner rock as well as trip hop and breakbeat, I'm with this newest effort the unmistakable sounds of future garage and techno start to infiltrate.
The overarching themes of the record explore this journey between texture as the duo create oceans of liquidity. The mix of viscosities sees each track take on a new compound, whether it be oil, bubble bath, perfumes, or a mineralised tonic, creating an uncanny background on which some old-school rolling grit is introduced through me great beat the Apple mention acoustic drumming. Still, it's all in service of that very liquid swing, which feels almost engineered after listening to Bruce Lee quotes and watching kung fu films.
The vocals sound both contemporary and angelic yet hold a strange, difficult-to-place emotional beat that I currently describe as hard-core memorabilia. It's like listening to oldskool floor-filler CDs in your adolescent bedroom, unable to go to the clubs, so the memory of the high-pitched vocals brings a strange feeling of darkness and isolation, especially because you were in your bedroom at thirteen. This feeling is compounded by the way the vocals have been treated, with excessive use of reverb, pitch shifting, and delay.
In the absence of a true, directed genre, the duo lean into the dubby, minimal trip-hop sound they've been exploring for a while now. The lack of genre doesn't leave the record feeling messy or directionless; in contrast, this lack of convention allows for a much more immersive expression of the duo's sound. They explore the feelings and themes from multiple angles, allowing the record to paint a more vivid and complete picture of the world. The use of vocal samples and pieces, put together like a jigsaw puzzle, and loops put over crushingly acoustic drums really sell the trippy effect and the off-kilter world we're in.
On the other hand, The Spirit isn't super progressive or particularly brand-new. But there is a clear vision of what is necessary, and the duo begins to create their musical world. There is an unfathomable out-of-space that surrounds it, giving rise to the thoughts and feelings Hugh Jackman experiences in The Prestige. It presents itself as peaceful until the final reveal, when you are brutally lonely. And these themes and motifs continue throughout the record, as those gloopy synthesised textures mix with the at times rather abrasive vocal processing on Triš's vocals, demonstrating both blissfulness and an underlying pain that elevates the work massively.
A large part of the album uses its experimental oddities to craft a cynical world of loss in this contemporary landscape, mixing in futuristic elements such as distrust of technology, the abandonment of connection, and a slow creep into AI psychosis. The duo used a deliberate mix of acoustic instrumentation, naturalistic-sounding synthesis, and ghostly vocal trails that call to meditative hooks, signifying a rejection of AI and bringing a human element to it. Overall, the spirit captures a solemn, lockout electronic music, solemn in the way that it's not dance-floor focused. Yet, it incorporates some really touching examples of underground music, aligning the record with the club. In contrast, its reluctance to focus its intent on the dance floor leaves a real buttery taste in the mouth. This is a record for listening, remembering, and ultimately feeling. From the first track to the last, this feels like both a loved letter to the genre and a rejection of said classifications.
Label: PSY X Records (2026)
Buttechno, Triš - The Spirit
