Review: KPT – 'Alive By Machines'

KPT
'Alive By Machines'
POLKADOT MAYHEM

The recent single from KPT, 'Descent' (featuring Jekka) was a tantalising peak into the forthcoming full-length studio album from the US-based dark electronica producer. Blending the dark and deep textures of darkwave and industrial with the attention grabbing accessibility of modern edm, it promised great things from it's parent album 'Alive By Machines'. And it is a promise the album makes good on.

The album blends elements of dark ambient, dark wave, industrial, edm, and techno with ease. It is quite a unique and hard to pin-down sound, but there are definitely parts that recall the likes of Diamond Version, Aphex Twin, and Blush Response. It's a sound that would sit well on the Raster-Noton roster very comfortably as it straddles the line between experimental and accessible effortlessly.

Tracks such as 'Ventilate', 'Revol' (featuring Gus Watkins), 'Collapsed', and 'Burn' give the album a fiercely intelligent and almost confrontational backbone with heavy distortion, dark atmospheres and creepy samples peppering the tracks. On the other hand tracks like 'Open', 'Descent' (featuring Jekka), 'Disintegrate', and 'Reconstruction' frame a core edm sound with darker textures and overtones for great effect.

The production is slick and modern with even the harsher elements sounding more textural than abrasive. While the ambient and dance elements, though subtle, are used to great effect. The balance between melodic and harsh is perfect all the way through and the mix creates a nice sense of space that gives the whole album a cinematic quality.

This is a great album that will appeal to anyone who likes the more challenging end of the edm spectrum. But fans of industrial, dark electro, and ambient music will also find lots to get stuck into. KPT will certainly be a name to keep an eye out for as an exciting rising name in both the dark electronica and edm genres with cerebral releases such as this.  

Posted in: alive by machines,kpt,music