Bleep

It should come as no surprise that Japanese producer Gorgonn’s debut is full of total bangers: he has a respectable list of credits, from his work in G36 with The Bug AKA Kevin Martin to collaborations with DJ Scotch Egg and Kiki Hitomi, and even a contribution to the DOROHEDORO manga soundtrack. Still, nothing could have prepared for the dizzying and irresistibly brutal experience of the inferno that is Six Paths.

Taking inspiration from Japanese Buddhism, Gorgonn explores the six paths of the afterlife, with a predilection for the damned. Throughout the album’s karmic journey, instruments are manipulated into electrical clashes as Gorgonn applies constant pressure, matching the energy of jigoku (or hell) with twisted club sounds and intense, demolishing rhythms. As we fall into the ‘Abyss’ we are met with a miasma of menacing bass lurking beneath the earth, throwing in shades of dub, techno, noise, and dark ambient with a vigorous approach.

Preceded by a smattering of thunderclaps, ‘Without Beginning or End’ cuts through with a relentlessly snarling bass and hot leftfield beats, like footwork for walking on flaming coals. ‘Deadman’ is a desolate sonic college, shredded and buzzing with sirens that induce a cold sweat, forcefully punctuated by the rhythms of ‘Invisible’ where bells and gongs clang out a semblance of melody in the percussive underworld. ‘Not Yet Surrendered’ turns down an epic and defiant route, baring teeth with propulsive synthwave-esque beats before molten synths and deeply resonating thuds cause seismic shifts on ‘When Can I Come Back?’.

Gorgonn doesn’t hold back on his solo debut; Six Paths is a ferocious master stroke of visceral club creations.