Askel: Glass Hands / Saboteur
none60

Monika: Shortwave / Taho
none60

Following its well-curated none of the above compilation, none60 resumes its production schedule with two singles, both strong and both highlighting the label's special gift for blending inventive beatwork and off-kilter experimentalism. First up is the two-tracker from UK-born, New Zealand-based producer Maxwell “Monika” Sweeney, whose material has appeared on Med School and Soulvent. While figures such as Machinedrum and Om Unit have been cited as influences, Sweeney forges a distinctive Monika sound of his own on the single.

As an homage to shortwave radio, it hardly surprises “Shortwave” should be sprinkled with samples, with obviously in this case radio whirrings and other subject-revelant elements muscling their way into the production. Hand drums, bass pulses, and crisp snares augment a blinding swirl of voice snippets, synthesizer flourishes, and other atmospherics, the whole coming across like some weird, Shackleton-meets-Burial collab concocted in some dank, dark studio. The flip “Taho” is likewise packed with detail, in this case crackly radio samples and hazy vocal sighs Sweeney sees fit to undergird with a tight neurofunk pulse. Of the two, it's “Taho” that's perhaps slightly more beat-focused and punchier, but both well reward your time, especially when the Monika production design is so multi-dimensional and engrossing.

none60's funkier side comes to the fore in the Askel single, and it takes no more than two seconds for the opening “Glass Hands” to assert its groove-centric vibe. There's atmosphere, too, of course, but the track's prime appeal lies in the swing of its heady, jungle-inflected beat science. In the spirit of a classic Photek groove, kick drums pound like cannonfire, snares ripple like stones across a pond, and cymbals ping like hailstones battering a windshield. Add vinyl crackle and ominous sound details and you've got five enthralling minutes guaranteed to addle your thought processes. Naturally darker in tone, “Saboteur” works an even punchier kick drum-and-snare combination into an arrangement that in featuring the wiry groan of an upright acoustic bass gives the tune a bit of a “Brown Paper Bag” vibe. No complaints from this corner.

September 20019