With all three of the label’s co-founders having hectic touring schedules to fulfill, it’s certainly understandable why releases on Hessle Audio have become slightly more irregular than they once were. It’s something Ben UFO has even commented on himself, when comparing the frequency of his label’s output to that of PAN and The Trilogy Tapes in an interview with Rinse last year. Step into the fold Bruce, the man tasked with delivering Hessle’s first release of 2014. Details about Bruce remain sketchy but on first look he seems like a natural fit for label. Not only does he appear to have taken naming pointers from label-mate Joe, but his sound positions itself at that middle ground between being experimental and being functional – a middle ground that Hessle have always been ardent proponents of.
Opener “Not Stochastic” featured in our 100th Truancy Volume and sounds as good now as it did then. Twitching synths have a noticeably trippy feel to them and are met with an undercurrent of buried kicks. As the track progresses the synths become ever more agitated, an effect only furthered by sudden drops and surges in volume. On the flip “Trip” is remarkably sparse – a prime example that less can definitely mean more. At times it seems as if the tribal-tinged drums are going to lose the energy to keep moving but reverberating bleeps do just enough to bring the sluggish rhythms back to life. “My Legs Wouldn’t Go Quick Enough” is the star turn here however. It’s the most direct and floor-focused of the three cuts; percussion clicks away irritably while piercing drones swirl and screech over the faint murmur of a weighty low end. When considered alongside his equally impressive Just Getting Started release on Dnuos Ytivil last month, it’s fair to say that Bruce has hit the production game ground running. “Not Stochastic” is an example of an artist fully justifying the hype and a reminder that although the pace at which Hessle Audio records are released may have changed slightly, the quality attached to them remains the same.
Bruce’s “Not Stochastic” is out now on Hessle Audio.
