Kpt - Claw [CD]

Kpt has sculpted a singular vision of atmospheric noise unlike anything before it. Claw begins uneasy, as atmospheric sound design builds with increasing tension. Swells of warm dread are interrupted by cutting guitar while slight rhythms evolve with hints of pads and barely-audible percussive elements. Soon, the arrangement contorts into a bad trip of screeching synths, deconstructed techno, and full-on blast beats. While fans of Kpt will recognize a few of his signature motifs scattered throughout, Claw demonstrates the artist's continued turn toward analog and organic workflows as he employs more traditional live instrumentation throughout. Like much of Kpt's best material - as well as the cinematic oeuvre that inspires it - Claw rewards patience and repeated visits. "Claw morphed from a more straightforward power noise/hard techno set into something of an analog bad trip over the last two years. I've ventured into noise before (see DEATHDANCE's The Blessing, or Big Witch for example), but this is the first time I've really gone all in. I feel a lot of nature here. Fog, wandering in the middle of a hot summer night, the increasing hum of power lines above, swarms of cicadas and storms brewing just out of reach. " Minneapolis-based Kpt initially performed Claw during a live set in 2023, and honed the sounds in between work on his forthcoming diptych Never, Forever; Nothing, Completely as well as remixes for artists such as en Esch and Mona Mur. Own, stream and share Claw now on both CD and digital before the artist's planned two-part offering later this year.