Having opened the scoring for DNO Records with an explorative ‘Broken Illusions’ EP back in February, Gelendzhik-based producer Kercha returns to the Brighton label with his ‘Fulminating’ EP.

This time, the Russian artist presents four tracks not dissimilar to M. C. Escher’s iconic artwork, Relativity. Like the physically impossible, yet mathematically perfect staircases of the latter, Kercha’s world is structurally logical on its most basic level — but beyond that becomes a thing of wonder.

The familiar snap of each half-step snare is as rigid as the laws of Newton — solid, dependable. But the rest of the picture is topsy-turvy. Each track shifts in the aftershock of subs hidden deep in the frequency spectrum; while gaping expanses and narrow corridors of negative space twist together, leaving room for the imagination to wander.

There are more tangible but no less fantastical properties too. From the opening crackle of ‘Hold Your Breath’ to the closing whoop of ‘Fulminating’ itself, Kercha stirs a concoction that’s gloopy and viscus with the immense gravity of sinkhole bass, yet comes alive to haywire samples that bubble and fizz in organised chaos. A whistle blast here, a whispered vocal there. Suddenly, an erratic ping that whizzes off into the ether. Each element comes together in a swirling, psychedelic mass that would be completely mad if it wasn’t so damn brilliant.

One to keep you on your toes, Kercha’s ‘Fulminating’ EP lands on the 20th of November 2020 on 12” vinyl and digital.

Rhythms of postmodern realism at the very bottom of the DNO.