A couple of months ago, Sanna Mun introduced us to her label’s personal debut EP through an interview, providing, in addition, some fascinating information about her background. Recently, she released her new EP Initiation on Modwerks, which includes three original tracks and a Ø [Phase] edit. With this material, she aims to showcase a heavier approach to her productions, still under the influence of her archaeological studies and esoteric experiments. Despite being in a tad different direction from what we hear on Katabasis 001, it is still a piece capable of grabbing our attention.
For each hidden remnant of a known -or unknown- civilization to be discovered, there is a specific process to follow. Rightfully so, Excavation as the opening track will help us delve into the forthcoming compositions. Its sonic morphology aligns successfully with the title, as it brings forth carving percussion drills that take action in an uplifting setting. A setting that consists of concrete-heavy slams that produce trembling echoes, the energy of which is so dense that it spawns scorching bassline spikes. Through that, the digging goes deep as the surroundings vibrate with tremors and reflect, in turn, the ripples of the dominating, massive pounding.
Shaken and warm, Ø [Phase] edit of 12th Hour continues with a speedy BPM sequence putting the hi-hats on the forefront. A blend of rattling, sharp cuts combined with aggressively distorted pads that storm from the background quickly rushes through wavering textures, leaving a blazing trail on their path. This repetitive, fast-paced behaviour results in a proper, multi-elemental mixture that unleashes a significant amount of bouncing force-fields.
A word still in use and derived from Janus, the two-faced Roman God of doorways and transitions, decorates the next track as its title. In Janiform, Sanna embarks on a compositional journey to describe a passage through inter-dimensional portals. As such, it takes the form of a conduit that relies massively on hypnotic, twisted loops and depends on sudden, massive drum hits to act as an alarm that keeps our awareness active. These two interloping elements form a quirky blend of high-pitched echoing soundscape, summoning us to travel through its warp and feel its pull to unknown destinations.
Ouroboros traditionally appears in alchemical images and depicts a serpent eating its tail, a symbol of the eternal cycle of death-life-rebirth. In that context, Sanna is expertly using repetitive patterns and whirling tension to transmit the symbolism’s message through music. One can also distinguish the pads that come as a soundwave which washes away the cycle’s final state, only to begin again. Both techniques are successfully integrated into a subtly ritualistic, atmospheric background just as much as to create a hypnotic repetitiveness, not far from the tail-eating serpent’s renewal.
The EP is available on vinyl and digital format via Modwerks Bandcamp.