Dave Sumner returns with a new Function record, entitled Awakening From The Illusory Self. Released as a 12" EP on Tresor Records, it follows on from Existenz (TRESOR 315CD/LP), his last full-length album released in November 2019. Packed in a beautiful sleeve printed with three special neon colors, the EP kicks off with the fast techno of "Misinterpretations Of Reality", it features a minimal acid-infected crescendo and throbbing pulse. As ever with Function, this idiosyncratic rhythmic work finds a place out on a limb from contemporaries, shapeshifting impulses that infer and guide this raw drum sound. The second track "An Optical Illusion Of Consciousness", Function moves towards a different direction, bringing more elements to the mix. It recalls the Dutch '90s techno sound with its melodic blurred synth leanings stretching and morphing across saturated, playful drums and hefty low-end movement. Its bind is perfectly weighted, a phenomenal track that nurtures its inner dancefloor soul as melodies fade away and tighter patterns take precedence. "Spiritually Unconscious" points to all the trademarks of Function's celebrated sound. A smooth 909 groove underpins bubbling atmospheres and hallucinatory effects, and a nod to the Motor City vision with its fleeting synth strings. At the core is potent, repetitive simplicity, its beat playing with weight and dynamics but never at risk of being lost. Closing track "Compulsive Thinking: Repetitive and Pointless" kicks a juddering swagger, finding public addressed system emissions drenched in reverb resonating above bleak analogic synth drones. It haunts and creeps towards a thunderous apex, finding its depth in sparse drum movements. An enduring fixture in the techno and electronic music landscape, Sumner continues to step through new terrains, reinforcing his spike and vision. Awakening From The Illusory Self finds him as ever delivering the goods in elating moments of pure club heft. Includes download code.
