- Fresh twists on classic dance music ideas appear across the Bassiani resident's versatile second LP.
- Last month, Gigi Jikia compiled a list for Electronic Beats called 10 Tracks That Define The Techno Sound Of Bassiani According To Club Resident HVL. It was an interesting listen, mainly for what it wasn't. Bassiani is one of the world's most talked-about techno clubs, a venue to rival Berghain according to some. This might lead you to expect Jikia's selections to draw from straight-ahead techno, as befitting of a club so closely linked with the sound. And sure, there was some of that. But most of this techno was influenced by or included something else—electro, acid, ghetto house, IDM. Purist it wasn't. Jikia has been a resident at Bassiani since the day it opened in 2014, and this list said something about both the adventurous attitude of the club and the type of artist Jikia is.
In a review of Jikia's excellent Ostati album from last year, Joe Muggs mentioned AFX, Underground Resistance, Tin Man, Shed, Martyn, Artificial Intelligence, Basic Channel and Drexciya as possible influences. The same could be true of Rhythmic Sonatas. And similarly to Ostati, Jikia avoids the trap of straight imitation. This isn't a burning of the rule book. But the album works enough novel angles on classic ideas to give Jikia a claim to a unique artistic identity.
Rhythmic Sonatas' 51 minutes are full of subtle invention and interesting decisions. Parts are faster, slower, softer and harder than expected. Jikia twists the wet / dry knob on an effect to nine when a five might have sufficed. Three shorter tracks arrive in sequence, bucking conventional wisdom about sequencing an album. "Repeated Eye Contact," a dreamy synth piece, is 43 seconds long but still a highlight. It's preceded by "Satovlia," a crisp 158-BPM electro jam that brought to mind Drexciya's similarly snappy "Fusion Flats," and "Badskit," the unexpected meeting of a 303 and a soul sample.
The club tracks often bang hard. But that doesn't preclude Rhythmic Sonatas from being enjoyed at home or on headphones. There would be no shame in a fist-pump on the bus when the drums suddenly drop on "Eyes In The Sky" after two minutes of its massive wavy synth riff. This boldness extends into the second track, "Baked In F12 (Korg Patch Mix)," which could be a Bassiani-ready update of Cybotron's "Clear."
It's with the more tender, atmospheric cuts later on, though, that it becomes apparent Jikia has nailed a second full-length in less than a year. Skip the slightly throwaway "Noboru's Arp" and focus on "Bilateral Symmetry," "Dabalsikhshiruli Rkheva" and "Nabolara," the closer. They each overflow with the things Jikia is building a powerful reputation on: sharp contrasts, borderless influences and a knack for extracting truly affecting moods from his machines.
Tracklist01. Eyes In The Sky
02. Baked In F12 (Korg Patch Mix)
03. Alien Discotheque
04. Badskit
05. Satovlia
06. Repeated Eye Contact
07. Bilateral Symmetry
08. Dabalsikhshiruli Rkheva
09. Noboru's Arp
10. Nabolara