Veröffentlicht
Jun 29, 2016
- Compared to most other Randomer records, Running Dry is more spacious and melodic—you might even say it's a little soft around the edges. Where Rohan Walder usually favors aggression and saturation, he gives these tracks a nimble levity that suits his spartan rhythms well. There's still plenty of percussive force here ("Music For Two Kalimbas" could be a leftover from 2014's Stupid Things I Do or Residents), but what the Londoner does in between those elements might be even more enticing.
The title track does especially well with Running Dry's melodic bent, elevating its workmanlike 4/4 with whorls of airy vocal synth and pliant low-end. Like elsewhere in Walder's catalogue, the '80s-inspired tones used here are practically clichéd, and yet hearing them in the context of a restrained techno roller feels no less novel and striking. "My Ears Hurt" and "Rendell Pips" are the most drum-centric of the bunch, the former working out a dark, twitchy groove with hand percussion and pan flutes, while the latter makes room for a couple of spritely synth lines and alien atmospherics. "Rendell Pips" will no doubt add some serious pep to any dance floor in the throes of 130-plus BPM. Between that tune and "Running Dry," Walder seems to have uncovered a refreshing new angle for his sound.
TracklistA1 Running Dry
A2 My Ears Hurt
B1 Rendell Pips
B2 Music For Two Kalimbas