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Live Review: Ptwiggs reshapes gabber, techno and club on her free EP, 'RIP'

20 June 2018 | 10:04 am | Holly O'Neill

Sydney producer PTWIGGS pushes what we know of familiar genres to their industrial extremes on her three track EP, made to trigger an existential crisis

Co-founder of Australian industrial club label, Eternal, and Sydney producer, PTWIGGS is the creator of some polarising tunes. Blending the heavy syncopation of club, the soft soundscapes of ambient and slashing through it all with plenty of metallic samples, she creates industrial beats primed for emotional catharsis. In her latest freebie EP, RIP, she reshapes gabber, techno and club over three huge tracks blending the genres with her own intense percussion and unrelenting energy.

Kicking off the EP is 'Eternal Chains', a rude introduction into Ptwiggs' world. Setting the tone with choppy metallic sampling, she launches into a flurry of kicks backed with a heady bass line. As the intensity builds, a familiar gabber bass is bent into submission, surrounded by squelchy kicks, warped screams and the racket of gunfire.

'Unclean' is an intense thrill, a cacophony of samples so syncopated that together they're almost shapeless. Synths are stretched and intensified to fry your speakers, crackling among harsh squeaks and sharp crashes. In contrast to the commotion a gentle, slow-moving, ambient pad floats, grounding the madness preceding it.

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Wrapping it all up is 'Psychosis', a perfect word to describe the madness of the EP and the track itself, revealing a sonic descent into madness. An eerie build featuring a violin style synth invokes the tense musical cues of a horror movie, as scattered clicks and sampled crashes fill the empty spaces. The vocal screams into the soundscape, echoing into pounding percussion and its own frenzied laughter.

Across RIP's wailing synths, dense bass and odd samples, Ptwiggs explores mortality and the intense mental process of confronting it. By pushing what we know of familiar genres to their industrial extremes, her unsettling soundscapes are confronting and are bound to cause an existential crisis in the club.

IMAGE: Vassi Lena

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