Rain Of Molten EP

It’s been twenty years since West London techno producer and Continual Records co-founder Tommy Gillard released his last solo record. He’s now back with a bang – and a pretty scary one at that.

After spending large parts of the last decade in the studio with fellow UK techno veteran Oliver Ho (better known nowadays as Broken English Club) releasing work as Zov Zov on Ho’s Death & Leisure and the ever reliable Berceuse Heroique, Gillard now joins Interstellar Funk’s Artificial Dance roster as Curved Needle.

Opening with the ominous and icey cold title track, Gillard makes it clear straight away he’s not here to make any new friends – he’s out for blood with six bone-rattling slo-mo post-electronic body music exercitions of the bleakest kind. Did anyone say ‘horrorwave’?

An aggressive half-speed drum & bass-hoover (think Ed Rush & Optical anno 1997 sawn in half) underlays the dystopic yet blatantly brilliant electro nightmare that is ‘Change-Power’, before things get even more sinister on ‘Sworn in Blood’ and ‘The Blind Leading the Blind’.

This may be a tad too slow and low to serve as your average dancefloor fodder, but it’s perfect torture room material. Now excuse me while I go mop up some blood. (RO)