MUSIC

With a clutch of EPs under his belt spanning a wealth of pallets, Henzo narrows the focus on his debut studio album “The Poems We Write For Ourselves” - a culmination of persistent iterations over several years, distilling his sonic milieu into something that feels decidedly his own. The album proper is coupled with a debut live performance which reinterprets the tracks and splices them with omitted material from the time of writing - recorded in full in the intimate confines of Manchester’s growingly infamous Stage and Radio basement. Honing his craft in the shadows of Lancashire, Poems is an expansive reflection of the producer’s time spent away committing to the scope of an LP.

A thread of stratified sound design weaves throughout the record, but with a discerning dancefloor proclivity mostly prevalent. Cold opener “Noggin” riffs on noughties Raster-Noton a la Byetone rebuilt with fractal tear out DnB, with closer “Indulgence” following suit on a puckered plod of Dub Techno ambience. More club-focussed moments come in the form of “Rustica Slump” and “Blue Will...”, the former’s sickly sweet vocals resolved by the latter’s stoic UKG/Techno rudeness. “A Bouquet of Clumsy Words” channels mechanical shuffle with a stripped back 2/4 pulse whilst maintaining a firmly FWD>>energy alongside “Plant Your Roots In Me” on a similar vector - swapping out a straight kick pattern for a bludgeoning 808 assault on an early Hessle-indebted tip.

“Take Stock, Touch Grass” harks to golden era ClekClekBoom and Night Slugs with a bare bones kick and vocal motif, updating the formula with a tweaking lead line that places it firmly in the contemporary space. “Swell:Shrink” sings from the same sheet with a shrieking, space age wobble doing the heavy lifting, knocking the pace back to a shoulder-lean swagger on a slow fast conundrum Henzo has shown his flair for on previous releases.

The outliers to Henzo’s more known approach, “Worm Grunting” with Belfast’s Emby, an amalgamation of halfest time DnB and illest mannered Road Rap, plus “The Rest Is The Mess You Leave”, a starkly anti-retro Ghettotek endeavour, give grounds to the LP. Clearly rooted in the comfortable universe of the dancefloor, these tracks expand the producer’s realm into loftier heights as he graduates into long play land.

Om Unit pairs with Baroque Sunburst co-capo Soreab for 'Pressure 3D', a four-track EP featuring two stellar flips from Al Wootton and Ottomani Parker.

The duo, both known for traversing varying musical landscapes and bold approaches to electronic composition, meet in fruitful common ground, spinning percussive webs and crushing grooves ripe for reinterpretation. Opener "Last Breath" is relentlessly moody and hypnotic, reimagining a dancehall-centric groove with heaving sub-bass pulses, deep into the bass bins for a late-hour pelter. "Tunnel Drift" switches lanes with its distinct tech-stepping 90's throwback style, a forward-thinking take on a nostalgic sound.

Al Wootton steps in to remix A1 into characteristically fresh and inventive dubbed-out house, adding his signature layering of atmospheric textures and a deep and groovy bassline.

A2 is reworked by dub techno-jazz outfit Ottomani Parker (comprised of BSUN’s other co-honcho Big Hands, trumpeter Abraham Parker, sax maestra Izz Karpel and pianist Hayato Takahashi). After a blissful opening, their take sees horns, keys and live hand-drumming ride the driving percussion, an uplifting finale to an EP that packs a punch from start to finish.