Modal Analysis Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The proliferation of AnD's productions in 2011 and 2012 saw the dynamic duo release a flux of EPs for a varied group of discerning labels including Horizontal Ground, Felix K's Hidden Hawaii and Black Sun Records. So far this year, AnD have been in much less prolific form, with the Mancunian pair's two credited releases the one binary encoded 002/0202/0222 12? from their own eponymous label and a suitably titled debut for Delsin offshoot Ann Aimee. Their year of label debuts continues here as they align with the Greek label Modal Analysis for the curiously titled Bow EP. Is this release named in honour of the London borough? If so, any apparent grime influence is buried deep into the screeching distortions of "Bow #1? and "Bow #2? to the point that it's undecipherable. Bow also brings with it a beatless, but snare/white-noise fuelled Decomposition by Warp, Downwards and Editions Mego noise doyen Russell Haswell, whose remix presents Modal Analysis with one of its most distinctive productions yet.

Review: With each release Yves De May is slowly breaking away from his Sandwell District-alumni status. After releasing just the one remix (of Sawf) in 2012, Transfer is the enigmatic producer's second release this year after the Metrics EP for Opal Tapes. This 12" for Modal Analysis involves three Transitions, with the lapping waves of white noise in "Transition #1" surprisingly offering something soothing, not harsh and malicious. Like a wild beast stirred from a stupor, "Transition #2" grows into a solidified and rolling remake of the former, with skerricks of static buzz creating continuity between tracks. The third Transition takes up the entire B-side, and with drums seemingly inspired by Vatican Shadow or Regis, it's the EP's culminating track that fuses the best elements of each Transition into the one cohesive piece.

Review: Starting to get some real recognition for his icy take on vintage electro and techno, Robert Witschakowski seems unstoppable in his quest to mould ever fresh and vital shapes out of well-worn approaches. On this EP for Modal Analysis, he starts proceedings with the devastating half-speed lurch of "Node#1", eroding the beat with lashings of distortion and letting the synths swerve into each other in the fuzz. "Node#2" is far more incisive, stomping out a guttural line in electro synths and booming 808 kicks. Delta Funktionen smacks things up sharp with a punchy remix, retaining the dominant character of the tune.

Review: George Kondaktor aka Slydex and controller of the Modal Analysis label delivers his first 12" following a tape album for Further Records in 2012. He's also assigned Greek industrial demi-god Sawf and the so far mysterious ANFS to remix his two signals. "Signal#1" is a drawn out, bit crushed and metallic swirl of cavernous atmospheres while "Signal#2" sounds like a dying T.V transmitting its final message before being dumped in a wet bed of scrap metal. ANSF gives "Signal#1" a decipherable groove compared to the aerated original, while Sawf pumps up the jam in "Signal#x2" with a bassline that sounds like a gnarly version of Suicide's "Ghost Rider".

Review: Greek noise explorers MMMD have a sizable body of work behind them already, having released on Pan as well as their own Antifrost label. Now the continually interesting Athens-based label Modal Analysis is releasing its first album in the shape of a live recording of Nikos Veliotis and ILIOS performing their minimalist drone experiments live in St. Paul's Anglican Church in the Greek capital. It's a subtle sound for patient ears, but listen deeply and you'll find such a rich amount of detail and expression wrought out of the duo's combination of organic instrumentation and electronics.

Review: Modal Analysis continues its unrelenting march towards the darkest territory in the electro landscape with this deadly 12" from Morah, which wastes no time in laying waste to the good vibes with the sinister stomp of "Voltage#1". The second track pumps up the rhythm section and lays down a sidewinder of a synth line that smacks of understated rave perfection, and it's that same synth that courses through the marginally more hypnotic "Voltage#3". Vapauteen offers up a remix of "Voltage#3" that slows the original right down and works a kind of mechanical tropicalia into the bones of the original.

Review: You may well have come across Miltiades doing sterling work on such excellent labels as Nous and Echovolt, pushing a grubby, blown out kind of hardware house music for freaky warm ups and wayward souls in red lit basements. Stepping out as Outermost, the methodology seems to be the same but with an gutsy electro mission that suits Modal Analysis perfectly. There's a seductive quality to "Surface#1" that makes it the consummate opener to this record, but it's something of a foil for the extreme sonic degradation at work on some of the tones in "Surface#2". There's a more bleak, industrial tone to "Surface #3" while "Surface#4" heads into a slower braindance conundrum before the sludgy slow-mo acid of "Surface#5".

Review: Exciting new techno imprint Modal Analysis introduces Greek producer Sawf to their roster with the Sand EP. "Sand#1" harks back to the early drone and techno-experimentations of Milton Bradley Don't Resist The Beat series, whereas "Sand#2" enters slightly more dance floor territory as a compressed groove thrums under industrial and percussive hits. Yves Des May reworks "Sand#1" in an abstract and beautifully crafted remnant of sound design with a slightly hip-hop motif.

Review: It's safe to say that Sawf can now be classed as a pillar of the contemporary techno sound. Having released on every label from Per Trax to M_REC and Code Is Law, the producer is now a respected member of the Berlin alliance, both for his tunes and for his DJ sets. Modal Analysis, a Greek imprint dealing in militant techno, has also been on his CV and he returns to the shadowy label with four grizzly sound sculptures. "Sonic1" and "Sonic2" are all fuzz and doom, a wonderful cacophony of noise and power electronics. "Sonic3" is a loose techno missile free of kicks and full of percussive power, while "Sonic4" let's the machines unwind and unfold into a rhythmic soundscape with a bleak outlook. Recommended.