Bleep

On new EP Corra Linn, Lanark Artefax ushers us into his world. The record takes its title from the name of a waterfall in Scotland’s Lanark district - the same place that inspired Calum MacRae to adopt the Lanark Artefax moniker - and the cover artwork features a magnified photograph of Lanarkite, a rare mineral native to the region. Corra Linn is very much a Lanark affair.

The three tracks here (released via Numbers) develop the sound of Lanark Artefax’s previous solo releases. Both Corra Linn’s title-track and ‘Moo Orphaned Drift’ strike a good balance between neo-IDM experimentation, retro-futurist rave sonics and the deft bass-techno sound prominent on MacRae’s Whities release. ‘Corra Linn’ is a particularly heady brew - the manner in which the tune zips between skittering breakbeats and bouncy synth tones sounds like some secretive Lee Gamble-Sophie collaboration (it’s no surprise that Lanark Artefax has previously released on Gamble’s UIQ imprint).

For all its invention in the dance, Corra Linn’s biggest revolution is also its quietest. We’ve not heard Lanark Artefax deliver anything quite like Corra Linn closer ‘Ferthenheap’ before. This is a spare piano piece, one whose simple beauty reminds us of Ryuichi Sakamoto - although the lo-fi and intimate recording quality could pass for a long-lost Daniel Johnston tape (R.I.P.).

Lanark Artefax makes progress both great and small on his Corra Linn EP.