'RT Hon' presents the purest development of Proc Fiskal's sound to date, released again on Hyperdub Records.
Words Joe Leonard Walters (@joe.leonard.walters)
Proc Fiskal returns to Hyperdub with his new EP ‘RT Hon'. The four tracks simmer on the border between the club and more home-orientated IDM listening, threatening to become dancefloor bangers before collapsing back into ambience at the last moment.
This tension is characteristic of Proc Fiskal's sound, with scraps of vocals balanced between the lush melodies and weighty percussion of previous releases.
The first track, ‘Pub Utopic’, typifies this. The Harsh grime scores carry the track forward, interspersing with warping electronica. If you were to show anyone a track that epitomises the Proc Fiskal sound, this might be it. You could liken the bass and percussion to what one might here from the airwaves of a London pirate radio station in the mid 2000s, while the hyperpop melodies give it an inherently futuristic feel.
‘Pic of U’ begins almost like a lullaby, before a grime bass and UK Funky rhythm trade places every few beats. The track's romantic melody is complemented by chopped vocals which ask listeners ‘are there any more pics of u?’ throughout.
If the first two songs are typified by club influenced basslines and ambient melodies, the EP’s third flips this dynamic on its head. The dynamic synths power ‘Job Centre Cataclysm’ forward as well as you might expect from a techno kick. Expect to here it across the festival circuit this summer.
'Global Lawn' is the EP's weightiest tune. Mechanical whirs and clicks meander through harsh bass and a contrastingly bright melody. The track builds throughout before the motorised sounds fall away like a broken machine malfunctioning and shutting down.
'RT Hon' presents possibly the purest development of Proc Fiskal's sound. At a time when electronic music is constantly getting faster, this latest EP shows remarkable restraint. The project's sugar-rush melodies and vocal cuttings are typical of the Edinurgh-based producer, but the fact that they feel so current is testament to how far ahead of the curve he's been.