Andrew Duke – Sprung CD

Andrew Duke – Sprung CD

"Duke has been around for a while, but this album for French imprint Bip Hop is his first release to receive wide distribution outside DJ circles. Duke's m.o. is midnight black, clanging machine techno of the sort Richie Hawtin crafts when he's in the mood, and that Thomas Brinkman has perfected. Heavily inspired by the sounds of Detroit, Duke shares some of Drexciya's fascination with the techno/electro crossroads, but Duke's album is much further removed from the conventions of early hip-hop. Only the opening track, "Hell Yeah", is really electro proper, and here Duke remains fixated on the gloomy, mechanistic attributes of the genre, like Cybotron with a dense coat of drop-forge grime. No way a joyous b-boy could pop 'n' lock to this thing.

After this opening cut, Sprung takes a much more abstract turn. Most tracks are built on a series of highly repetitive loops that morph slowly over time, the patterns incorporating scrapes, hisses, and the occasional synth flourish. The recurring mental image I get when listening is the kind of comically complex machine Wile E. Coyote used to order from Acme, with dozens of dials, pipes, cords, wheels and other assorted devices popping out in every direction. With each new track, one of these massive top-heavy devices is set spinning, and as it wheezes and wobbles in place, the machine coughs up chunks of metal, fittings loosen, and fasteners give way. The racket swells and becomes chaotic before peaking and receding again." - Mark Richardson / Pitchfork