Bleep

On their third album, New York synth trio Forma venture away from their techno experiments last showcased on their 2014 EP for The Bunker. Multi-instrumentalist John Also Bennett having replaced founding member Sophie Lam, Forma is their first full-length in their new line-up, their first for Kranky, and the first to incorporate acoustic instruments such as piano, flute and percussion.

Those are deployed on the second half of the double EP which is characterised by its fluid, ambient arrangements: analogue sci-fi sound effects drill into the sustained, slightly out of tune piano notes of ‘As If Pianos Grew On Trees’; when the ‘Materialists collapse’, the sound of the noisy drones exemplifies the group's new-found focus on texture. The first half on the other hand has its emphasis on rhythm, featuring minimalist compositions on modular and vintage synths. Their typically repetitive patterns have psychedelic effects: ‘Spin Man's’ and the title track’s phasing evoke the spirits of Reich and Riley, their American forefathers from the 70s.