Ireland-based imprint Variance has been around since 2014, when we earwitnessed its first release; back then, Luke Creed a.k.a. Scenedrone had gathered a bunch of fine producers for what became the first release of the label - a four-track VA. But once you get used to good things, it might seem as though they've been around for as long as you can remember, and some of us surely feel this way about Variance. Through the two years of label's existence, its roster has been keeping us happy with rough, non-conformist industrial techno, some strong debuts from rising artists, and numerous free-download releases. For the closing release of 2016, they went with the second contribution from well-established producer Oliver Kucera (subtly disguised as OLVR/KCRA) - this time in the form of two original tracks, accompanied by remixes from Scenedrone, Sur+ and Vønshk.

    Warehouse-effective 135 BPM opener GHSTS right away unleashes wide, syncopated, acid-soaked kicks and softly bleeping 2/2 stabs, that are soon joined by revolving, moderately distorted synths, dry claps that are hitting twice every 16 bars, hissing hats at 4/4, short, sandy hats running at double speed with the third set of constantly shifting, open ones; in the short breaks, you'll encounter some vocal bits, reverberated to the point of being unintelligible. CHNGL retains the tempo, starting off with ghostly horns and sped-up, filtered piece of movie dialogue that will be reinvoked and expanded upon throughout the track - the opening sequence ends with foreshadowing silence that gets suddenly broken by the quaking 4/4 drum pattern supported by two additional, lighter toms that execute their quick hits at the end of every 4 bars, panning 2/2 claps, open 4/4 hats running aside the more scattered, second set of open hats, and an alarming acidic loop that gets introduced in the second half, being abundantly reverberated in the breaks. In his remix, Scenedrone keeps to the original BPM value, utilizing wicked - no other way to put it, significantly enhanced synths that instantaneously rise and descend in volume through the sections, distorted 4/4 kicks, with every second hit being doubled down, creating a galloping effect, dry 16/16 hats, distant claps that swiftly hit 4 times upon the 4th bar, dense, sizzling 16/16 bands, an almost inaudible cybernetic bassline loop that appears for the short time in the middle, and rearranged citations from an unidentified source. Sur+ opts to slow down to 132 BPM in his GHSTS Remix, making synths creep about in the shadows rather than roar with full force - which allows to create a much more sinister impression; he engages distortion-tortured samples of startling screams and uncanny background ambiances, dystopian, echoing claps running in pairs, 16/16 hats and low-seated 4/4 kicks that turn to the galloping 5-hit patterns in the second half. Vønshk returns to 135 BPM, putting forth his arpeggiated, EBM-leaning bassline à la Blush Response, making use of steady 4/4 kicks and ticking 16/16 hats, reverberated, clonking samples at 4/4, neatly-reshaped bits of panning vocals, and strategically placed, stretched-out screams that greatly contribute to an already chilly ambiance.

Release Type: EP

Release Date: 26 December 2016

Release Format: Digital

Record Label ● Catalog: Variance ● VAR014

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