Glasgow based Bricolage Records sees Scottish producer John McLaren, AKA Kill Them With Noise, explore a new direction under his Urgula alias. Moving towards a more stripped-back approach, Urgula aims to use the space between sounds to highlight one another amid the frequency wars.
Frequency Wars begins with Use Of Weapons, an attention-grabbing full-on stepper which cleverly uses sonic space to keep things moving in an interesting direction. Urgula’s heavy focus on sound design is present here, with a rich percussive structure aptly married with disconcerting hypnotic melodies.
Battle For The Magnetic Fields initially moves into a more contemplative space, with ambient pads lulling the listener before being balanced by psychedelic rave stabs and a rhythmic structure that would be akin to that of post-dubstep artists such as Akkord or early Objekt. Urgula’s use of spacing really enhances the tenebrosity of the rhythmic structure.
Scavengers At The Station continues on the sparse, pronounced rhythmic flow set out thus far, with dark pads and experimental synth tones creating an encapsulating sonic palette. Urgula’s sound design has precise attention to detail and can be heard distinctly here.
Bricolage have recruited Yasda and Doxil for remix duty, both of Battle For The Magnetic Fields. The former chose to lean heavier into the pronounced rhythmic structure, moving more into the psychedelic side of techno with an added plucking melody line which may have sounded better if it had been left out.
Doxil chose to go down the more straight-forward UK hardcore-influenced direction which rounds the EP off nicely. Paul Woolford(AKA Special Request) may be told that he wrote this and he would be none the wiser. It features a 90’s rave piano chord breakdown, a sample of an MC at a rave somewhere in the UK, cleverly juxtaposed bare bones break patterns and colourful synth patterns.
Preview Urgula’s Frequency Wars via Bandcamp here.