Emptyset

Bristol, UK-based duo Emptyset consist of American transplant James Ginzburg (co-founder of influential dubstep label Tectonic) and partner-in-grime Paul Purgas. Demiurge (their second full-length release) sees the duo pushing their unique brand of insanely bass-heavy industrial glitch further into the abyss. Their sound owes a certain debt to the minimal glitch work of Raster Noton artists such as Byetone, Alva Noto and Frank Bretshneider, but here it's made more visceral and somewhat more masculine thanks to the dominating sub-bass throb that could only come from urban Britain in the wake of the grime and dubstep scenes. Starkly minimal, hugely absorbing and, at times, threatening, Demiurge is a highly compelling album that, although relatively accessible, compositionally, brings some difficultly, and also excitement, mainly due to the unnerving amounts of sinister bass. If there was ever a readymade soundtrack for urban decay, this is it.