Bleep

From Seattle drone pioneer Stephen O’ Malley’s futurist cover art aesthetics down, sine-wave manipulator COH’s TO BEAT is an album to get lost in and entranced by. Typically, COH’s previous post-techno releases have eschewed beat-focused structures, focusing instead on layering sound waves and pulses. On this similarly beguiling record, out on Peter Rehberg’s drone-marshalling imprint, Editions Mego, the producer explores new territories, embracing, as the title so clearly signposts, restless rhythms and traditional beat architecture. The newly adopted mathematical progressions are deployed instantly, thanks to the robotic throb of album opener, ‘Wave To Beat.’ Despite the stern overtones, though, a strong sense of playfulness and joy pervades this stomping LP, especially on the video-game hijacking sound of 'Moonviewhigh'.