London-based producer Perc, otherwise known as Alistair Wells, returns with his third studio album, Bitter Music. Following 2011's Wicker & Steel of 2011, and 2014's The Power And The Glory, Wells calls on the political underpinnings of techno to raise awareness on charged topics that are embedded within the titles and themes of the record.
Released on his own Perc Trax imprint, the album operates on a variety of sonic influences. Strung-out vocal treatments and degenerative warehouse rave aesthetics permeate the track list. Despite this, tracks like "Look What Your Love Has Done To Me" reveal a sentimental vulnerability. The record's unique sonic palette — which includes Ian East's flute playing, and electro-acoustic experimentation as highlights — does not compromise the heavy dance floor focus that is immediately striking about this record.
Bitter Music offers a delicate balance of the personal and the political, and occupies a unique space in the artist's discography. Its conventions push outward, and refreshingly do not concern themselves with a refinement of the established tropes of techno.
(Perc Trax)Released on his own Perc Trax imprint, the album operates on a variety of sonic influences. Strung-out vocal treatments and degenerative warehouse rave aesthetics permeate the track list. Despite this, tracks like "Look What Your Love Has Done To Me" reveal a sentimental vulnerability. The record's unique sonic palette — which includes Ian East's flute playing, and electro-acoustic experimentation as highlights — does not compromise the heavy dance floor focus that is immediately striking about this record.
Bitter Music offers a delicate balance of the personal and the political, and occupies a unique space in the artist's discography. Its conventions push outward, and refreshingly do not concern themselves with a refinement of the established tropes of techno.