»I wanted to create a journey within each track, like something alien emerging from emptiness – beauty from chaos,« says Slikback of his debut album for Planet Mu, Attrition. The Nairobi-born, Poland-based producer remains true to form: his previous releases on Hakuna Kulala, PAN and Tempa have all offered deconstructed club tracks with little concern for accessibility.
Attrition follows a similar trajectory. The opener, »Snow«, floats gently in ambient mode, but »Taped« soon jars the listener awake – and aside from two quieter pieces in the middle, the album never relents. Those few contemplative moments barely register. Instead, the record’s sonic aggression burrows deep into the nervous system: a dense fusion of gqom, abstract trap and grime, dubstep, footwork, knotty techno, drum & bass and noise.
Slikback employs the computer as a tool of creative emancipation, wielding digital production as a mirror of present-day realities. His compositions layer game-like sounds with uncompromising dancefloor intensity, operating mostly in the 140–160 BPM range. The result is a compressed hyperreality of global dread – restless, forceful, precise.
Attrition
