One of the more stimulating contributions to the
Smalltown Supersound
label's massive
Remix Anthology
in 2022 was made by
Darren Cunningham
, who then moved his main alias to the Norwegian haven for boundary-pushing artists like
Neneh Cherry
,
Kelly Lee Owens
, and, indeed,
Carmen Villain
, his remix subject. The first thing that stands out about
Statik
, released only a year after
LXXXVIII
, is a graphic connection with 2020's
Karma & Desire
, showing a totaled car in front of a field instead of a parked car in a cityscape. The most obvious sonic difference is that this briefer set, with the exception of an unintelligible murmur in "Hell" and a buried phrase smeared across "My Ways," is voiceless, a quality in line with the claim that
is the product of total solitary immersion. For the listener familiar with
Cunningham
's past, nothing here is likely to sound novel. It might be surprising how often it verges on "coffee table," though any lounging it inspires would be at least a little uneasy, like waiting for a curfew to lift or a state of emergency to expire.
remains brilliant at making tracks that blur the lines between comforting and claustrophobic and inviting and forbidding. Tunes such as "Rainlines," "Dolphin Spray," and the amusingly titled "Cafe del Mars" are among his prettiest and most straightforward, respectively, dealing out throbbing and knackered house, intimate dancehall, and vaporous techno. The few purely ambient pieces, highlighted by "Doves Over Atlantis," are almost as evocative. ~ Andy Kellman