Acridis Talk by Gespona

Right on cue for extended action throughout the even busier part of the summer ahead of us, here comes Gespona's third Stil vor Talent transmission, 'Acridis Talk', after his previous two 2022-released studio efforts, 'Kune' and 'Magota'. Hailing from Barcelona, Gespona champions a sound both sensually deep and openly groove and percussion-focused, which echoes well the type of sound he tries to bring on stage. Armed with his Elektron Digitone and Moog Sub 37, the Spanish producer pulls out a quartet of essentially tribal-minded tunes designed to fit any moment of the night, in terms of both rhythm and ambience, harnessed for proper explosive peak-time business and further spacious atmospheric sorties in equal measure.

Beating a martial pulse, 'Helicon' goes hard in the paint with its cleverly engineered mix of hi-intensity EBM tropes, sizzling tech outbursts and lavishly hued synth envelopes from outer space, gaining maximal momentum up until about halfway in, when the wildest break/drop combo ensures to have you taking a tumble into the greater void. A more subliminal, delay-heavy piece of 4x4 expression, the title-track 'Acridis Talk' trades the linear buildup of the opener for the kind of syncopate swagger one would be hard pressed to resist. Befogged under a thick haze of FX and processed machine talk, the track evolves into a fiery pseudo-acid/indus slasher, murky and oddly rousing as it gets. Perhaps the epitome of Gespona's signature moody ambivalence and thorough floor-destroying acuity.

Recorded in collaboration with fellow Barcelona-based Argentinian producer Djolee, 'Colorblind' showcases the housier, more atemporal facet of Gespona's work. Laying down a feverish assembly of soulful vocals out of the classic mid-90s house repertoire and more exploratory keyboard work on a kosmische tip, the pair has us transfixed with their highly infectious blend of ancestral vibes and ultramodern groove. Together with Buenos Aires' rising talent Abuk, the Barcelona maestro shifts focus onto more intricate polyrhythms, treating the odd Latin / piano house classic to a vibrant facelift, as it nimbly swings the pendulum between elegant melodic brittleness and no-prisoner, bass-laden floor menace. A work of dual beauty and rugged power, hypnotic and entrancing from all angles.