cosmin trg is back on sportiv with two tracks of stark, angular beauty. afterburn harks back to 90s era techno of the hyperkinetic variety, in the vein of regis s seminal gymnastics . the obssessive vocal mantra adds to its hypnotic, frantic rhythm. electra on the flip is on a trance-inducing mission, with it s cavernous 808 kick driving a tribal groove, carried by a pulsating bassline and eerie percussion. sportiv is a dexterous white label operation that brings you heavy-weight rhythmic performances from the world of techno athletics.

following last years meditative mirage ep and the stunning * beat 13* on lovers rock no. 6, earthen sea returns to lr with his debut lp ink. his heaviest and most ambitious work to date, ink is a work of hypnotic, monastic beauty. over the last ten years, earthen sea, aka jacob long, has been developing a sound world all his own, built on a foundation of vaporous grey-black drones and pulsing kick drums. an impressionistic dream-scape of american life, ink journeys between the eerily vacant “entrance” to the feverish “stateless” and the shimmering perfection of “all men know the truth.” swaths of violent, glacial noise collide with lost voices transmitted through the ether, framed between moments of transcendent clarity. following an extended three song suite, closing track * blues in black ink* rides a gently falling piano melody into a finale that is as infused with political rage as it is with private melancholy. with ink, earthen sea arrives fully formed, an artist in utter command of his craft.