Emptyset

As a fan of Emptyset's self-titled debut and 2011's excellent successor Demiurge, this year's Medium, a mostly live piece based on an installation work, and Trace, a collection of early recordings, were interesting curiosities with some strong moments but didn't quite hold the punch that registered so firmly with the first two albums. On Collapsed, the Bristol, UK-based duo of James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas are fully back on track with their distinctive punishing, bass-heavy minimalism. Released as the sixth EP in Raster-Noton's Unun series – that to date has included Grischa Lichtenberger and Mika Vainio – it only makes sense that Emptyset would eventually release on the experimental German glitch-techno label. Listening to these four tracks, you soon realize that Collapsed is no arbitrary title but central to the content offered here. Starting off with a grid-like precision that gradually disintegrates over the course of a few minutes, within the closed system of each track, the inevitable, and thrilling, result of course is always entropy.