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2x12"
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TEMPA 112EP
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Manchester native Alex Coulton has nurtured a reputation for creating sub-heavy rollers thanks to 12"s for the likes of Black Acre, Livity Sound and Bloc. With Gamma Ray Burst, the next in his series of releases on London low-end specialists Tempa, Coulton consolidates his sound to deliver some of the most sparse, rhythmic work of his career. With the record's title track, Coulton weaves from hard-hitting kicks, through to dizzying tribal polyrhythms, the whole time maintaining a minimal, space driven atmosphere that remains omnipresent throughout the track's most intense moments. "Ground Zero" revels in its spaciousness, allowing reverb to flood into the negative space between flashes of heavyweight techno percussion and saturated ripples of synth while the pulsating kicks that underpin "Alpha Decay" are punctuated with bleak, discordant bells, rhythmic bass hits and hypnotic filtered percussion. Showing his diverse abilities, "Phase Two" is an exercise in measured restraint, as a cacophony of clicks and hisses come together to disorientate before forming a driving rhythm section leading into the fog-tinged "Ascent" where Coulton maximizes his expansive elements. Coulton closes with the steady flowing, brighter-hued melodic work of "Distant Resonance". Alex Coulton has created a masterful collection of experimental tech-focused electronica that bewilders, intrigues and will draw the listener in with each play.
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12"
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TEMPA 106EP
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Regular Tempa contributor Alex Coulton follows two well-received 2015 solo 12"s on the label his 2014 contribution to Tempa Allstars Vol. 7 with two tracks that take influences from house, techno, jungle, dubstep, and beyond. "Ambush" is full-on Alex Coulton -- moody atmospheres, heavy sub-bass, and delicate percussion. The restrained intro soon gives way to hypnotic conga patterns, maintaining momentum through Coulton's taut soundscapes. On "Direction," the shuffling hats, soft pads, and bright melody, are more primed for the dancefloor, with the stuttering beats accelerating to 4/4 as the track progresses.
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12"
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TEMPA 102EP
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With a slew of lauded 12"s on Hype_LTD, Black Acre, Idle Hands, Livity Sound's dnuoS ytiviL, and Bloc, Manchester-born Alex Coulton has successfully branded his own stamp on the tougher strands of UK bass music. Here, "Hand to Hand Combat" kicks things off, packed with pugnacious bass tones and dystopian drones; driven, steely toms and pellucid rimshots scatter across the mix in a high-pressure affair before "Concealed Weapon" demonstrates the adroit management of atmospherics that's propelled Coulton's production path thus far. Dense, throbbing subs form an underbelly while menacing growls intertwine with reverberated claps and snares.
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12"
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TEMPA 098EP
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Recall/Wiretap, from Manchester's Alex Coulton, follows his stark, atmospheric contribution to the 2014 compilation Tempa Allstars Vol. 7 (TEMPA 094EP), and furthers his ultra-stripped-back, rhythm-driven aesthetic of techno refracted through a sub-heavy sound-system prism. Hypnotic, sidewinding rhythms, packing intense, percussive energy for peak-time 'floors. "Recall" is a gradually unfurling firestorm of distorted kick drums, reverb, and molten sub-bass, which repeatedly dies away to near-silence before returning with twice the impact. On the flip, "Wiretap" is lighter but no less intense; a whirling assembly of drums, warping bass, and freakily catchy struck melodies that's as tough yet elastic as tensile steel.
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12"
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LIVITY 899EP
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Originally released in 2013. Alex Coulton is from Manchester and delves into the heavier sides of house and techno.
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12"
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MISTY 001EP
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Alex Coulton makes the deft first mark on Beneath's Mistry label, a new home for darker, techy UK riddims, with a necessary vinyl cut of his in-demand "Bleep Sequence" and the slick forward motion of "Tension." "Bleep Sequence" weighs up a definitive reduction of dark garage, dubbed techno and Yorkshire-style bleep 'n bass with plangent radar pings and body-scanning subs rolling from a spare, half-step swagger into dread techno momentum. "Tension" is a deadly new cut, well-known to UK underground circles, synching tribal drum cadence with wide, surging subs and diffuse dubbing to sound something like Pinch and 2562 paying tribute to Source Direct.
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12"
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ACRE 045EP
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2015 repress. Making his Black Acre debut, rogue genre-splicer Alex Coulton takes the label back to its roots in the darkest corners of the club. With certified smashers dropped on All Caps, Livity Sounds, and a long catalog of tinkering with the perimeters of house, techno and grime, Alex's invention and adventure make him a perfect edition to the label's canon. "Murda" is a rock-solid grime/techno bastard child, building a drum workout littered with bleeps, chirps, and claps riding along a tidal wave of low-end. Round two is no less blood-thirsty with the bruising "Break Pressure," which dabbles with ethereal atmospheres before unleashing a drag-jungle beat-down.
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