Hybral – “Affirmative Action” EP

Hybral is a prolific artist on the Berlin scene who founded the collective and excellent label Subverted. And while “Affirmative Action” is often merely thought of as their musical manifesto, it is just as much the bewitching prelude to a composition flaunting a wealth of nuances.

A symphony of futuristic sounds that could set the tone for the most frightening horror film. The listener is enthralled by granular buzzes sucked up by the first 3 tracks’ swirling drones, where thick layers covering an incessant rhythmic pattern ebb and flow amidst hauntingly strident synth lines. Hybral once again amply demonstrates their expertise in producing dense, thunderous techno rhythms that never cease to impress. An assembly of sounds both organically futuristic and artificially fanciful in a highly captivating sonic exploration – a Giger-esque ode to dystopian themes.

After wandering along these first 3 ghostly country roads, a sense of eerie calm washes over us as we delve into the remixes of the track “Undoing Bias” by Fluid and Nnamael (Subverted’s resident artists); a labour of love showcasing utter respect for the original score. Fluid slightly picks up the pace and prompts us to backtrack to hunt down more ghosts, while Nnamael rather seems to be taking us by the hand to tread down an enlightened path, away from ambient oneirism, and towards a more hypnotic techno route. But this voyage will not leave you unscathed, even as you emerge from this magnificent tragic piece in 5 acts.