Premiere: Galtier – XX-101 (Process)

Music

Written by Annie Parker

Nostro Hood System head honcho Galtier makes a return to the Bristol label with 5 visceral tracks which, through fusion of synthetic and organic textures, emulate human imitation of nature’s essence.

He crooked his neck, not daring to make any bigger movements as he learnt his surroundings. His feet stumbled clumsily and he found himself spinning, his eyes receiving visual information faster than his brain could process it. The hardness of metal pressed itself into soft flesh, resembling the shape of human bodies, but not their movement. Faces showed their teeth and squinted their eyes, but didn’t smile. Mouths projected noise, but didn’t speak. It was grotesque but strangely enticing. He looked down at his hands which couldn’t hold.

In some respects, ‘Imitation Plantae’ is exactly what you’d expect from a Galiter release. 5 off-kilter tracks which laugh in the face of genres, maintaining just enough of their stylistic tropes to make them recognisable before screwing them up and making something totally new. In reality, it’s hard to know what to expect from Galtier – an artist who basks in unpredictability and uncanniness.

Departing somewhat from his previous output, an introspective full-length album released on Mexico’s Infinite Machine imprint , Imitation Plantae is a whiplash tour of club music’s strangest corners. Crystalline sound design flirts with the senses, each blip and groan tempting to the touch, immersing their listener in a cyborgic world.

Our pick ‘XX-101 (Process)’ sees Galtier put his oddball spin on dembow. Arpeggiating synths and a razor-sharp buzz that whirrs mischievously above, add layers of movement to an assertive triplet rhythm. Club mutations at their most incongruous, we file this one next to Batu’s most recent EP.