Tape-Echo

There is a shroud of mystery that, perhaps deliberately, envelops livity Sound. No press, no promo, no tedious hype machine transmissions, just raw dancefloor friendly tracks released in limited vinyl only runs of well mastered and pressed, hand stamped, white labels. The no frills aesthetic of this Bristol underground label has much in common with the likes of  early Dischord Records releases, with the strict D.I.Y. ethics and distribution chain they adhere to. you'll only find these records in a select number of outlets, all hand stamped and posted out from the heart of Bristol. Slowly, a new movement of house and techno influenced mutations is building. (full stop) All that this generation learned from dubstep has been distilled to its basic elements and then refined to make bastardised interpretations of House and Techno music. Its raw and unpolished sound fits perfectly with the D.I.Y. (TWO DIYs, may want to change) aesthetic of the Livity Sound label, which is already firmly establishing itself as a vital outlet for these Bristol-based experiments. True underground music that sounds almost as dangerous and renegade as jungle did to many 15 years ago. The shrinking vinyl market has forced those who still favour the format even further underground. (full stop) Low profit margins on record sales are eaten up by distribution companies and some have decided to leave that old system behind, instead self-distributing their records and getting them straight into the hands of the people that want them. Following on from the 'Beneth Radar' 12 by Pev & Kowton earlier this year is Asusu with two tracks, (cmma) 'Sister' and 'Too Much Time Has Passed'. 'Sister' on the A side is a blue and wistful affair: (colon) ghosts of 2-step rhythms that garnished his earlier work on PSQ and Immerse haunt the track but only just. This is machine music, as industrial-sounding as Detroit techno, (comma) which undoubtedly influenced this mechanical monster, the gears of which are oiled with drops of human emotion. The machine'(apostrophe)s galloping pace builds and roughly textured stabs rise up from it like valves under high pressure, (comma) finally bursting. A heart-wrenching dialogue between man and machine. The B side of the record, 'Too Much Time Has Passed', slinks out from the depths in a manner not too (double o) dissimilar from Rame but with a greater sense of urgency. The foreboding classical sample that this track is steeped in is a nod to the ambient techno master, Biosphere, but by no means a cheap imitation. The beauty (take out of this track, repeating yourself) lies in the dialogue (correct spelling) created between the kick drum, bludgeoning you like a bag of oranges in a pillowcase, leaving no bruises, (comma) just dizziness (correct spelling) and the delicate passages of sound design that Stennet has skillfully woven through them. A very tense trip. Both tracks are as solid and uncompromising as the vinyl they are pressed into.