A Closer Listen
Warning: this album is loud. There’s no ignoring The All Attracting when it plays; the volume is at least 10% higher than that of the average recording, while the low end is particularly visceral. This is immediately apparent in the crispy first track, “Recovery File,” which conjures classic Dom and Roland and IDM. The combination has been owned by the YUKU imprint as of late, the label turning out an impressive series of high-quality aggressive dance works. As noted in our Spring Music Preview, fans can join a subscription service to procure slices of the colorful vinyl.
Bass and treble, low and high battle it out in “A.I.”, with a couple turns mid-piece, enough to keep the senses on high alert. The ambient breakdown lasts only 21 seconds. The combination of pattern changes and single-sized length makes this only one of thirteen bangers. Boris Tellegen’s art provides a visual map of the music: cuts and colors, resembling lattice work.
Tim Eliot (Berlin’s Current Value) knows how to increase the pulse; these tracks are not only loud, but fast, which means they are a danger on the open road. At times, the timbre is distinctly drum ‘n’ bass. The most jungliest piece, “Blessing,” also provides the title most appropriate to the theme: the “indivisible force of the god in everyone and everything.” While Eliot mentions Hinduism, he also implies animism and underlines the visceral connectivity of music. As such, it’s fitting that he is joined by guest starts Amon Tobin and MVRK for the title cut and “Space.” The former track is flowing while the latter is pounding. The rhythm in me greets the rhythm in you, and pays homage to the rhythm in all things.
We’d love to hear a mixed version of the album, which would create yet another spiritual side effect: the whirling dervish of trance. Apart from those tiny spaces between tracks, the album is a non-stop club monster, the type one feels in the spleen and communicates through the feet. But as another cut states, “It’s All Good.” In that piece, a robotic shaker has a conversation with a heart monitor, growing more agitated as the piece progresses. If Love and Death and Robots Season Three is approved, YUKU should be on speed dial. “Playground” includes sudden spasms of distorted drums, and occasionally trips over its laces, reflecting its location and visitors.
By “Timeplay,” dancers will be spent. The energy without has become the energy within, before traveling in the opposite direction. The ending is abrupt; now, already? Fortunately this energy – the energy in all things – lies ready to be replenished with needle and groove. (Richard Allen)
Thu May 13 00:01:27 GMT 2021