The BRAINDANCE EP marks a first outing on Throne of Blood for veteran Philadelphia dance music weirdos Pink Skull. This EP, featuring the a druggy, analog take on electronic dance music introduced on their recent DEFINITIVE GAUZE EP for Toronto’s MY FAVORITE ROBOT label, marks a new direction for the band, who have a lengthy discography of genre-defying releases blending elements of post punk, noise, krautrock and more on labels like TONE ARM and I GET RVNG. This is a new incarnation of Pink Skull, leaner, meaner and crackling with a lysergic energy informed by decades spent djing well outside the mainstream.
The A side features a collaboration between Pink Skull’s Julian Grefe and SCHEMATIC RECORDS’ Joe Lentini that pays tribute to the erstwhile microgenre known as Braindance. Recalling the tearout edits and frenetic pacing of mid-90s SQUAREPUSHER or REPHLEX RECORDS, “John, I’m Only Braindancing” blends classic rave stabs and breakbeats, aggressive edits and an atmosphere soaked in mdma to delirious effect. Toronto’s JOKERS OF THE SCENE take the tempo down, replacing the original’s anthemic stabs with a menacing bass thump and a steady 4/4 groove.
On the flip, Pink Skull bring down the tempo still further, turning out a slo-mo groover “Brown Acid.” Analog synths and thunderous claps meld with spooky atmospherics to evoke a trip out of bounds. JACQUES RENAULT and Australia’s DAS MOTH preserve that vibe with their bass-heavy remix, which injects a heavy dose of old school house into the proceedings thanks to a circular synth loop and some discoid drum programming.
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