Published by Davide Pappalardo on August 15, 2018
Blush Response is the techno-industrial project of American artist Joey Gonzalez, one of the most prolific and successful names in this field of electronic dance music. We have followed his career since the days of his droning dark ambient-inspired album Rebirthed In The Sprawl, through his rhythmic-noise influenced endeavor for Ant-Zen called Reshaper, and his experiments with modular sounds and syncopated patterns in Body Architect and Human Augmentation. Last year he redefined his cyberpunk approach to techno with Infinite Density, a work full of EBM and electro-industrial influences, as well as the plethora of aforementioned elements he has integrated in his sound during the years.
Now he returns for the aufnahme+wiedergabe imprint (under which he has published his EPs Future Tyrants and the aforementioned Body Architect) with his new 4-track release Abuse Your Freedom, a new chapter in his brand of caustic techno-industrial music mastered by techno veteran Thomas P. Heckmann (his partner in crime in Drax Response). Here you will find his usual arsenal with modular synths, precise rhythmic patterns and high-tech sound-design, EBM bass-lines and dry beats, conjuring a cyberpunk soundscape with infectious grooves and militant drum machines aiming to conquer both the dancefloors and our ears.
The title track welcomes us with its stomping rhythms and modular lines, building a structure completed by evocative vocal samples and droning micro-grooves giving us a textured sound in which Gonzalez’s production skills are at play. The hypnotizing mantra explodes in a galvanizing techno march full of sci-fi electronics and robust industrial beats. Weak people is a tempestuous affair with crawling snares and dissonant anti-melodies, a dark but enthralling track growing with a subtle crescendo climaxing into steady rhythmic structures and obsessive synths. In the background we can hear perfectly timed industrial effects, showing once again an attention for details due to experience in crafting techno-industrial pieces. Sampled vocals are used here as well, picturing a mysterious cinematic atmosphere interspersed with distortions and stomping patterns.
Live in fear of conflict is a dark techno number with dry bass sounds and looping bass-lines, an EBM-tinged episode with old-school grooves perfectly inserted in a modern songwriting with various rhythmic patterns played together in a sonic experience enriched by eerie choruses and modular effects. Denial will prevail is an incursion in rough rhythmic structures with distorted beats and elegant synth-lines, an IDM-ish track with engaging lines and never swirling syncopated rhythms. Shrilling textures guide us amidst a technological soundscape showcasing an everlasting taste for sonic experiments and sound-research.
Abuse Your Freedom is another installment in the long series of releases by Blush Response exploring the possibilities of rhythms and sounds in the world of techno-industrial music, using footnotes from all over his previous endeavors. Past and present, EBM, techno, industrial, IDM, modular synth-sounds, are tools in a sonic palette employed with the clear intention of giving us apt episodes in which the searching for professional sound-design never overrides the sheer enjoyability of the tracks themselves, be it in a club or in your home. Granted, nothing here will really surprise you if you already know the recent efforts by the artist, but it doesn’t mean he has finished his tricks up the sleeve or you will experiencing a boring listen. A continuous evolution due to the never ending exploration of never hardware and tools is shown in every work by the him, and this release is no exception. Let see if it will lead to new adventurous paths in the near future.
Label: aufnahme+wiedergabe
Rating: 7,5