Music

Premiere: Batu’s ‘Whisper’ is a warped techno tour de force

Timedance lays down the marker for 2017

Batu and Timedance surged in prominence through an impressive 2016, respectively winning twelfth and sixth place in our Top Breakthrough DJs and Top Record Labels year-end awards.

Through his club sets and the output of his imprint, the Bristol-based artist has made waves as an influential player, maker and curator of a new style of seismic bass-powered UK techno that’s among the most compelling, innovative and thrilling music currently out there.

Moving into 2017, Timedance is primed to continue its pioneering charge with a new three-track EP titled ‘Murmur’ from founder Batu landing next month. It’s another head-spinning release that’s a potent combination of dark and disorientating.

In our Timedance feature Batu noted a chat with A Made Up Sound about being the “B2 crew", referring to their shared penchant for obsessively searching through records’ B-sides to find the most “weird” and “interesting” tracks to play out.

‘Whisper’, the B2 on ‘Murmur’, certainly fits that bill. It opens with an intricately trickling flow of shrill electronics, before unfolding over the course of seven gripping minutes with metallic-sprung bass hits, atmospheric synths, shifting percussive textures and impactful sound system feedback samples. Get your head down to the premiere below.

'Murmur EP' is out via Timedance on February 17, pre-order it here

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer, follow him on Twitter