pixel: mantle

Mantle is Pixel's fourth release on Raster-Noton since his debut in 2003 and a further exploration of his approach to rhythm-driven electronic music. The overall atmosphere which is produced by the fragile but nevertheless complex sounds is gloomy and quite threatening. Deep, pulsating basses are accompanied by ominous and fierce tones which emerge like flashes of light or shock waves, giving the impression of being warning signals. The few calm moments are constantly disrupted by dark drowns. If this is the future, it is not a very bright one. But all the precisely-generated sounds, which seem to be produced by industrial machinery, are by no means lifeless. Actually, it seems like the automatons are tuned to funk, resulting in a polyrhythmic, driving, and impulsive composition from which one cannot escape.

Pixel - Mantle - Plump Bob (clip (raster-noton)