heurco s: colonial patterns

Brian Leeds produces electronic music under the name Huerco S. His debut album for Software is titled Colonial Patterns. Leeds treats his Kansas City region as a universe worthy of its own electronic music. To that end, he deconstructs Midwestern techno and house tropes. The pieces are corrugated, rough, and de-compositional. Working cheaply, Leeds conscientiously uses low-end software, synths, and cassettes so as to subvert the gloss of so much urban dance music, giving tracks an impressionistic, emotive feel. The result is uniquely Midwestern: there is an expansiveness to each piece that suits the open space and the storied past of its inhabitants. Colonial Patterns shares Jon Hassell's hybridized experiments in percussive ambience, as well as William Basinski's strobing melancholia. When tracks subtly veer into house/techno territories, they mirror the no frills dance mechanics of Midwest figureheads Ron Hardy, Omar S, and Theo Parrish. Includes a download code