litüus: 2236 s. wentworth ave

Litüus returns to Avian. Sparse and reflective, the Chicago native’s work occupies a curious space on the periphery of the Techno genre. By stripping back the music to all but its most vital elements – most notably the Sequence, but at the same time maintaining a sense of urgency in its articulation, Litüus crafts exquisite, ghostly shadows of busier, more fleshed out material. Neither intro nor outro, but rather suspended in some middling point of formation – what remains is a remarkably pure examination of minimalist, experimental synthesis. The enigmatic producer first appeared on the label with19805.-19905 – a collection of reduced hardware sequences released on cassette and 12” in 2015 and 2236 s Wentworth ave continues in much the same vein, though perhaps exploring a marginally more traditionally ‘musical’ sentiment. Nods to 1970’s sound designer Irv Teibel’s Environments series sit alongside more overtly contemporary structures, and the mood shifts gently across the recordings – from a low slung, pulsing anxiety to a gentler serenity via heavily ring modulated bells and spring reverbs; softly warping percussion and careful bandpass filtering. Litüus creates music that is geared neither towards home listening nor the dance floor, but that exists somewhere in between – quite where exactly remains part of the the artist’s undeniable allure.