Bleep

Jorge Velez presents his first 12’’ for Stockholm’s Skudge Records. His 2012 retrospective MMT Tape Series: Home Recordings 1996-1999 for Rush Hour as Professor Genius documents how he anticipated the rugged lo-fi trend in techno — unsurprisingly, the US producer counts full-lengths for L.I.E.S. and EPs on various quality imprints such as Italians Do It Better, Créme Organization or Echovolt among his discography. After retiring his Professor Genius alias, he now mostly appears under a variation of his own name: as J Velez, he takes us to the tougher end of techno. The modified string sounds of ‘Les Meandres’ cut as sharp as paper through its restless two-note bass pattern. Hydrocution taps into this ambience of urgency in the form of dissonant sirens. ‘Blue Bottle’ works with dronier sentiments, building up films of oily liquid, and on ‘Tunnel’, the synths mutate equally as freely.