Italy-based artist Mari Mattham is a relative newcomer in the techno world, if we should measure that by the date of his first release, but he knows his stuff - that much is clear. If you're actively involved with techno scene, you might have encountered his works under the alias of M23, most of which are published through his own imprint Big M Records. As for the Hexa Rec, this isn't the first time he makes an appearance on this momentum-gaining French label, but it's the first time that he contributes a full-length, solo EP to its catalog, in capacity of Mari Mattham. Before analyzing the tracks one by one, to prevent ourselves from repeating we will point out that all of them are paced at 128 BPM.

    While the time signature of the kicks is set to 4/4, additional drum pattern on Latenza doubles the hits every two bars, greatly enhancing the rhythm; its additional percussion if a from of 4/4 shakers, shifty wooden toms and panning 12/12 hats truly make it bounce, while the phasing ambiance layers fill the background, enriching the spectrum. A rather melancholic piece Young Age has about as much breaks in it, as the main sections - the kicks are running at 1/4 half of the time, accompanied by neatly-shaped 1/4 claps, sweeping, soft hats at 4/4 & 2/4, clicking layers of short bands at 16/16 and stretched-out piano pads, flowing across prolonged lines of warm ambiance. With Vision, the story is reversed - its low range is occupied by full-out, hard-hitting 4/4 kicks with very little time devoted for breaks; more sweeping, clicking and tonal 16/16 bands - albeit arranged quite differently, and resonant, by times vocalized, panning pads that bring on the moody seriousness. Realized After elevates the levels of energy even further, standing out as the most energetic number of the bundle - syncopated, driving kicks are backed up by relentless, dense, sandy 16/16 hats running alongside by another, craftily-shaped layer of hats at 16/16 that drips, akin to liquid drops into the water, and a moderately distorted bassline, fractured in 16/16 to assist percussion, which gets low-passed up and down in a revolving manner every 16 bars - all of this goes on against vastly stretched-out bells and non-intrusive, almost unnoticeably oscillating ambiance. Tech house-leaning Black Sea returns to 4/4 kicks, making use of xylophone-resembling, naturalistic and lively arranged stabs, barely registering, short 2/4 hats, dry shakers running in three for every bar, a set of intensifying 16/16 bands, running as cogs in a small mechanism, mellow, minor key pads supported by three-note loop that is featured every 8 bars, and a wee bit distorted, satisfying bassline, that stretches out across the track's horizon. High Rock can very well serve as a soundtrack to a hacking session - its cybernetic, circular bassline and inorganic clicking samples in the breaks makes one think of a data transfer and an encryption process, executing in the background; layered, sandy hats are running at 16/16 above the 4/4 kick pattern whose 3rd kick gets doubled, producing a neat, galloping effect; if we were to point out one track we can't get enough of, it would be this one.

Release Type: EP

Release Date: 1 January 2017

Release Format: Digital

Record Label ● Catalog: Hexa Rec ● HEXAREC017

Purchase Links: Beatport ● Junodownload