Bleep

Sabina Plamenova follows a pair of distinctive releases on Opit and Astro:Dynamics under her new Alis moniker with a surprisingly hard offering for Fifth Wall Records. The London-based producer eschews the synthpop and vocal experiments for a cavernous dub-techno sound that is sure to ingratiate her with Fifth Wall fans. On the atmospheric ‘Apache’, bright keyboard arpeggios give way to tense choral pads and deep, unsettling bass. ‘Modus’ balances neck-snapping drum work and acid synths with alien FX and more eerie pads. House heads Ital and MATRiXXMAN each pitch in a remix of Apache. On Ital’s insane take, reverb-ravaged drums clatter under a mind-numbing synth loop, while MATRiXXMAN’s pulsating mix is powered a hoover-like synth sweep and crisp percussion.