Betonkust – Tropicana Tracks EP

Altered Circuits – ALT00102024

Brandy From Seattle Yorin Home Shopping Chlorine At Night Sorry About The Album

ALT010 is a collection of four tracks that owes its name to the infamous Tropicana, a subtropical swimming complex erected in 1988 on the outskirts of Rotterdam. Although it has long stopped serving its initial purpose, the huge, outlandish building remains an inescapable relic, reminding everyone of its faded heyday. Back then, next to welcoming thousands of families for a swim, it occasionally hosted mega raves – and thus also played a small, obscure part in the then equally burgeoning Dutch dance scene. It’s curiosities like these that seem to tremendously inspire Betonkust: his discography could serve as an OST for such gone-by settings – if they ever at all took place the way we now imagine them to begin with. On «Tropicana Tracks», he deploys his vintage, lo-fi (going on mid-fi) approach, recording one-takes from his analog machines, combining DIY efficiency with a heavy focus on melodies. In particular, the record’s theme seems to have inspired the usage of the reverb, delay and release knobs as the cuts at times float like fog arising from a hot swimming pool. Aside from their wet mixdowns, the tracks showcase one of Betonkust’s biggest talents: his ability to scoop up classic patches to write captivating, unique hooks. On «Brandy From Seattle», a lately bass pattern leads a chord progression towards euphoria, while «Yorin Home Shopping» ‘s nineties-inspired flutes and pianos nearly coat the bit-crushed squarewaves running underneath. Waves of muffled M1’s propel sultry pads and arpeggiating hi-note sawtooths on the darker «Chlorine At Night». «Sorry About The Album» continues on this tip and goes even further as it ventures into electro-oriented waters. It closes down an essential entry in the artist’s catalog, true to his and his subject’s ethos.