Encircled Earth by Eszaid

A deep-diving sonic essay swinging the pendulum betwixt wiry dub, UK bass fragmentation and dembow-derived mutations, the third volley from Worship comes courtesy of French producer, Eszaid, whose name shall ring a bell to lovers of L.I.E.S. and Collapsing Market. Beaming raucous signals from deep down throbbing subaquatic rifts, "Indraic Cut" gets the ball rolling on an eerie, downtempo dub tip, setting the focus on an intricately woven web of menacing reverbs, spooky melody and convulsive drumwork. A zombie-like dancehall and jungle hybrid running the gamut from robot-operated Caribbean skank to reconfigured bursts of Source Direct-style percussive rage, "Zmej" is a master exercise in style when it comes to shifting from full shot to exploded view in a flash, sure to get that dizzy-high sensation flowing across the room.

Steel-clad and ominous, "Ophis Dub" implements its own smouldering, gunpowder-scented electronic grammar, like the untamed brainchild to Deep Medi, Autechre and Basic Channel. Flush with textures and envelopes to wrap your ears around, Eszaid's music treats us to a proper DnB-adjacent brainwash but in its own idiosyncratically, threateningly future-proof way. The fast-changing "Chained" abseils further deep into uncharted reverb-drenched territories, this time laying further emphasis on the mutative nature of drums themselves and the abstract-leaning FX he coats them under, eventually hatching in a Rubber Johnny-esque whirlwind of sonic assault. "Kronstadt" rounds off the journey on a slo-combusting junglistic note, moving upstream towards a Metalheadz heyday kind of headspace with its processed drums lashing and gigantic bass ripples tsunami-ing down the ravers' spines to effervescing effect.

Cuts from the sixteen pointed star

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