red axes: sipoor

Already a well-established presence on the outlandish fringes of experimental, alternative and dance music, celebrated Israeli duo Red Axes make a surprise left-turn onto Phantasy with a three-track 12”, ‘Sipoor’. Unsurprisingly, the results are as pleasingly out-there as the occasion requires. Following on from last year’s self-released LP, ‘The Beach Goths’, ‘Sipoor’ immediately announces the Axes’ uncompromising return to the front and centre of the dancefloor with the raw, provocative ‘Bad Time Story’. Brazen, brash acid triggers this particular tale, as Red Axes briskly modulate their way through a ruff, tuff but never less than musical landscape of 303s and 808s. ‘Sipoor’ takes a more gradual approach to building offbeat rave tension, featuring an unknown male using his native tongue to request some kind of house, some kind of techno and some sort of release. His wish (and we hope, yours) is the Axes’ command, as the music goes deep before seamlessly unfolds around a throbbing bassline and a playful, familiar keyboard sample, beckoning feet to the dancefloor and perhaps tongues ever so slightly to cheeks. Concluding the 12”, ‘Teroof’ takes each of Red Axes’ signature ingredients - deeply rhythmic EBM-inspired drums, spiralling electronics, unapologetically odd vocal distortions - and reconstructs them amid what sounds like the Monaco Grand Prix, as high-velocity motors speed past the soundscape, kicking up some serious dust.