Colonial Patterns

Recording information: Kansas City, MO.
After building up a buzz with releases on Opal Tapes and Wicked Bass, abstract techno producer Huerco S. (Brian Leeds) made his full-length debut on Daniel Lopatin's Software imprint in 2013 with the magnificent Colonial Patterns. Similar to albums by artists like Actress, the album contains club tracks, but they're far from conventional, with broken loops and inventive beats that rarely stick to standard 4/4 patterns. There isn't much tonal range to the album on the surface -- all of the tracks seem to have the same sepia tone as the cover art, and much of it sounds muffled and sludgy -- but Leeds is a restlessly creative artist, and the album never sounds monotonous. "Ragtime U.S.A. (Warning)" is the most immediately catchy track here, with its low-slung 4/4 beat and repetitive "Warning" vocal sample. "Prinzif" is another standout, starting out with a muted thump and odd, smudgy samples before fading to a near-silent crackle and then re-emerging with warm house chords, finally arriving at a beat several minutes later. On a few shorter pieces, bass tones seem to melt under all the wavy Basic Channel dub echo. Elsewhere, sounds and rhythms seem to drunkenly stumble into themselves. The album's broken-ness works to its advantage, and it ends up being one of the more notable artifacts of the 2010s outsider house scene. ~ Paul Simpson