Perfectly Deep Weekly #38:
Ocheret, Lectromagnetique, Poly Chain & Bartosz Kruczynski

Lectromagnetique - Alienation (2015)
Bass Agenda Recordings

Tags: #detroitelectro #experimentaltechno

Following the emphasis on the Detroit electro genre in recent issues of this newsletter, here is a natural extension in the form of Lectromagnetique aka. Ukrainian producer Ivan Margolin. For almost ten years, he has been putting out gritty, dancefloor-ready techno and electro, including three excellent albums, of which this is the first.

The album is characterized by classic, crunchy and punchy electro beats and rumbling 303-acid basslines. Bursting with syncopated drum patterns and quirky loops, the album embodies the future funk vision introduced by Detroit stalwarts like Drexciya and Dopplereffekt but also adds new ingredients into the mix:

Margolin is based in Chernobyl, and according to biographical material, the outset of his artistic endeavors is the story of living in the human exclusion zone. A portrait by The Calvert Journal says that he "plays with atmospheres and tries to immerse the listener in the state of despair and deep suffering associated with the space by developing intense electronic rhythms laced with acid."

The album comes out on the UK-based Bass Agenda Recordings, a record label dedicated to the electro genre. So far, that has led to over 125 high-quality releases and running a radio show that has hosted prominent names such as Juan Atkins, Helena Hauff, The Egyptian Lover, Legowelt, Adult, Dave Clarke, and many more.

Poly Chain & Bartosz Kruczynski - Pulses (2019)
Into The Light

Tags: #experimentalelectronica #experimentaltechno

Poly Chain, whose civil name is Sasha Zakrevska, is a composer, dj, curator, and graphic designer in Kyiv.

According to her bio, her sonic mission is "to bring a breath of fresh air into the scene, painting ambient and club-ready textures with a relevant hypnotic electro imprint." This mission spans, so far, a series of exciting releases, including this album, which is her debut long-player.

The album is made in collaboration with Polish electronic music artist Bartosz Kruczyński, known for both his ambient and more danceable productions. The most famous of his aliases is probably Earth Trax, whose two 2020-albums LP1 and LP2, made international waves.

It starts on a soft ambient tip with 'Jacana' that features long synth pads that slowly evolve before introducing a stabbing arpeggio and a shuffly beat later on. 'Solacious,' the second track, is a grainy, noise-driven ambient track that starts slow but around the middle steps up with a compelling synth motif and later on a melancholic bassline that reminds me of UK artist Burial. My favorite track is 'Fluxional,' a real acid burner built around a simple 303-line that loops throughout the track while being manipulated by pulsating resonance filters and overdrive tweaks. That sound never grows old; I love it.

Behind the release stands Into The Light Records, an unknown label to me, which turned out to be a small label from Greece. With just a little more than 20 releases over ten years, it appears to have quite a boutique feel to it.