Emptyset weigh down heavily with the concrete shock of Borders, a solid foundation of cinematic sound design that has its roots frozen within the transcripts of industrial techno, oil soaked metal and vast slabs of hardcore drone.
Having kept the project to a decidedly low profile over the past four years, the duo of James Ginzburg & Paul Purgas have been increasingly active elsewhere within the electronic underground. Despite four years having passed since they last went head to head for the hypnotic turbulence of raster-noton entry Recur, they have been increasingly active within other fields of thought. The most interesting missions from the duo have been the separate work they have undertaken within the reissue sphere. In 2013 Ginzburg along with Wire contributor Jennifer Lucy Allan founded the crucial Arc Light Editions imprint with the first ever vinyl edition of Arthur Russell's magnificent Another Thought. Whilst Purgas unleashed the little known early industrial Jeff Mills project Final Cut on his esteemed We Can Elude Control imprint. Whilst both of these projects maybe placed in a different realm to the electronic concrète they produce together, these projects feature strongly in the make up of Borders.
2017, and in partnership with Thrill Jockey, the duo have returned to cast a shadow over the techno x noise underground with a new recording that, in many ways pulls a strong influence from the two stand out projects they pursued within the augmented break. Borders finds the rhythmically enhancing compositions of Arthur Russell and the ferocious funk of Mills early incarnation providing a platform for Emptyset to launch their harsh, metallic walls of sound from within, and out into the ether. Blending echoes of the Bristolian soundsystem culture from which they first emerged, here we find them moving deeper underground. Whilst the molten sub-bass sonics that they are known for still resonate strong, they have distilled their current surroundings into the influence that bleeds through this latest chapter. Carrying a strong line from the basement techno of Ginzburg's surroundings in vast expanse of Berlin to Purgas' geographic location within the endless concrete jungle of London. Moving from techno resembling structures that come with a hard as nails post-punk attitude.
Emptyset have created their most physical record yet, one that at once maps out new directions for them as producers, whilst daring to traverse Borders that others in the field wouldn't dare tread.
